


Cut Thread

by VoidDragonQueen



Series: Fusion!AU [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Mutual Pining, Rating May Change, Sorry he just full on makes out with the reaper, everyone is their persona au, its weird, mild body horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-13 19:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16024658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoidDragonQueen/pseuds/VoidDragonQueen
Summary: The Trickster wakes in the midst of a war. While everyone struggles to survive a seemingly unstoppable force, love and longing bloom on the battlefield, a small comfort among the horrors.*Prequel to Reflections





	1. The Fool Awakens

**Author's Note:**

> If you've read Reflections, you have a good idea of how this is gonna end :3c. But, hope you'll come along for the ride anyway.

_ “It's time to wake up.” _

He wakes up to a grey sky, the sounds of a babbling river nearby, dull aches rolling through his body. He pushes himself to a sitting position, something on his back shifting to help right him. He stands, walking over to the river to look into his reflection. The mess of black hair under a fancy hat and crooked red horns, fiery eyes, the black wings-  _ wings- _ protruding from his back made for quite the sight. Arsene blinks, straightening up again. He sees movement, hears sounds off in the distance. With a flap of his wings, he takes to the air, intent on figuring out what's going on. He sees fighting, a bunch of four-legged grey and gold creatures surrounding this blonde man standing on a small, floating ship, injured and snarling at the creatures.

“Have at it, you mangy mutts!”

Arsene folds his wings in as the creatures close in on him, diving. He slams into one, the creature letting out a yelp as it flies off. Arsene slides across the ground, brandishing his claws, launching himself at the next closest monster. The two of them kill most of the creatures, a few slinking off.

“You okay?” Arsene asks.

“Thanks for helping, lad. Who’re you?”

“I'm Arsene.”

“Captain Kidd, pleasure. Now, come on, battle’s not over yet.”

Arsene follows him, helping him to fight all manner of creatures, seeing they were working they way over to a couple of people like the Captain. One also blonde, long red dress and holding a fan, the other wearing all black, with pointy ears and a tail. Some of the creatures were bipedal, some even had six legs, and of course more of the four legged ones kept harassing their movement. They could see the two fighting a large winged bat-like creature, Arsene flying over the ground bound creatures to slash at its face. It was stunned for a moment, turning on him and snarling.

“You false angel, how dare you touch me!”

“We're gonna do more than that!” Kidd shouts, rushing it.

“Nice of you to finally show up Kidd.” the woman says, brandishing her fan.

The four of them focus their attention on it, occasionally fighting off the other creatures that dare to come close. Arsene deals the final blow, slashing its throat. Arsene lands, checking on the others to make sure they were also okay. The one in all black had a hand on Kidd’s back, mouthing something, and he watched as Kidd’s wounds healed.

“Gotta learn to be more careful.” The healer grumbled.

“Trying to, Zorro.”

Arsene turns away, looking out for more creatures. 

“Incoming!” he says, flying towards the things.

The woman moves to help him, the two of them moving in tandem to kill the new threats.

“We gotta get to the others too, any idea where they went?” The woman shouts.

“By our fort, we were getting hit heavily there.” Zorro calls back.

“Hey, wings, come with me. They'll catch up.” 

Arsene follows her into the town, flying beside her as she leads him into heavier fighting. A blue haired man was struggling a bit, the six legged creatures cornering him.

“Goemon, heads up!” 

Arsene watches as the woman leaps, the man catching her by the waist as she kicks one of the creatures mid-leap, knocking it to the ground. The man spins her around gracefully, letting go and slashing another creature, cutting off its jaw. Arsene dives in, helping clear a few of them away. The woman presses a hand to Goemon’s thigh, healing some of his wounds.

“Just in time, Carmen. New friend?”

“Yeah, he's good at this. Where's Johanna and Milady?”

“Up ahead. Johanna and her sister are trying to cut through the numbers from behind with Milady's help. Okumura is holding down the old hospital pretty well to help the survivors get out of there.”

Zorro and Kidd are close behind, helping to destroy more creatures. A shout as two metal women, one brunette, one with grey hair, cuts through enemy lines, the rest scattering as both groups meet in the middle. 

“Where's Milady?” Zorro asks.

“She went around to help her father. Most of the things have retreated for now.” The grey haired one answered.

“Let's go help them then.” 

They ran further ahead, coming upon a red haired, well-dressed woman alongside a smaller, black haired astronaut. The group converges on the pair, finishing off the stragglers.

“You two okay?” Carmen asks.

“We're fine, just need a little break.” 

Arsene stepped away, flying off, circling above them, trying to see if more of the creatures were coming their way. He banked down, seeing the beasts running off, slowly drifting to a stop in front of the group.

“They all seem to be running.” He reports.

“That's good, let's fall back for now, tend to the survivors.” The brunette nods at him.

Arsene flies a little above the group as they make their way to a low, sand colored building that seemed to have been hastily refortified with scrap materials from nearby destroyed buildings. He lands, ducking inside after everyone, Zorro, Carmen and the brunette spreading out to see who needed help. Another red haired girl, longer than Milady’s, was inside by some monitors, struggling to keep a signal on some of the screens. 

“Necro, any luck?”

“Sort of?” she turns around, tilting her head. “Who’s that?”

Everyone who wasn't helping turned to stare at him.

“Who indeed?” The silver haired fighter mused.

“Uh, hello, I'm Arsene. Nice to meet you all. Um, can someone explain what's going on, exactly?”

“Something or someone is trying to take over the world. We can't let that happen, and we've been fighting for a few years now.” The brunette starts.

“Those creatures keep coming, we need to find the source of them so we can stop them.” Zorro finishes. 

“You must be the Trickster, correct?”

Arsene blinks.

“I don't know. I just woke up today.”

“Sheesh, you're pretty strong for someone who just came to be.” Kidd mutters.

Arsene just shrugs and offers a soft smile. The group introduces themselves to him formally, and they all settle in as the moon starts rising. Arsene offers to take the first watch, silently pacing around the outside. He sees a soft blue glow, following it to a slightly open door. He pushes his way inside, cautious. 

“Hello?”

He goes towards a desk, where a small, blonde woman in all blue sits. She looks up, smiling at him as she closes her book.

“Welcome to the world, Trickster.” She chirps.

“Who are you?” He asks, her voice odd and familiar to him at the same time.

“Many simply call me the Bookkeeper. I'm here to assist you in your quest. I hope you've found what your purpose is already?”

“I need to help the others win this war, right?”

“Precisely. Every day you'll get stronger, but do be careful. Make bonds, help others so that they help you.”

“Okay. Anything else I should know?”

“You will know in time, but this is goodbye for now. I'll see you again soon.”

She stands up and disappears into the dark room, leaving him alone. Arsene turns and leaves, the door gone once he turns around. He resumes the watch in the air, only going back inside when Johanna whistles up to him to switch.

“Good night, Arsene.”

“Good night.”

He found a quiet spot, big enough so he wasn't going to hit anyone with his wings when he woke up, and swiftly fell asleep.  
  


Days had passed before their first large-scale threat appeared. The many-eyed, serpent-like creature was huge. Arsene watched his newfound friends direct panicking survivors out of its path. If he wasn't keeping an eye on it, it would take some time to find the monster again, being almost silent. Near it, people were falling victim to its spell, being lured to it before it swallows a sizable crowd whole. Arsene dove at it, scratching at one of its many eyes. It hissed in amusement as it closed an eye to protect itself, snapping its jaws at him and getting some feathers as Arsene cartwheels to avoid it.

“Oh, foolish mortal! You can't penetrate my skin!” The monster laughs, its voice scratchy and deep, making his skin prickle.

Arsene swoops towards it again, firing off a curse spell but only succeeding in knocking off a few old scales as it laughs again. Carmen runs towards him as he snaps his wings to right himself in order to land on his feet.

“You good Arsene?”

“This thing's tough.”

“Fly me towards its face, I have an idea.” 

Arsene grabs her, flying up towards the sky, Carmen muttering under her breath as she prepares a spell. Arsene tilts towards the creature, flying right at its face. 

“Drop me!” She shouts once they were right over its head.

“Got it!”

Arsene lets go as Carmen waves her fan and free hand in rapid movements. The snake snaps its head towards her right as she releases a powerful fire spell, the snake hissing as it gets blinded. Arsene dives to catch her, bridal style as he spins away to avoid another snap of its jaws. He shifts her to free a hand, launching another curse spell into its blinded eyes, the snake yelling in agony, swearing at them. A lightning bolt gets thrown into its open mouth, Captain Kidd taking the opening. The creature cries out, collapsing onto the ground, the aftershocks wracking its body. Arsene puts Carmen onto the ground in front of it as Kidd and Zorro catch up to them to hit it with all they got.

“Arsene! The building to your left, knock it over!” Necronomicon sounds in his ear.

“On it!”

“The rest of you, get out of there!”

Arsene rams his shoulder into the unstable building after a sharp dive, the resulting rubble falling onto the snake. He flies down to check if the other three are fine. They throw a few more spells to make sure the creature was dead, the body still twitching as they leave. 

“Hope everyone else is okay.” Arsene says as he levels near their heads.

“Johanna is with them, I'm sure they're fine.” Kidd glances at him as they run to the next fight. “‘Sides, Sae is pretty strong.”

“We need to focus on finding survivors.” Zorro reminds them. “They're the priority, after all.”

“I'm sure we got most of them in the first group. I don't have much hope for the stragglers.” Carmen chimes in.

They run into Milady and Okumura, both looking worn.

“All clear?” Zorro asks.

“Yeah, we should take shelter, I can hear something loud moving around and I'd rather not run into it while we're not at our full strength.”

“Yeah, that building looks like a safe bet.”

The six of them move inside and going up to have a vantage, taking cover on the fourth floor as they catch their breath. It was quiet for a few moments, Zorro and Carmen checking for injuries as a precaution. Arsene hears the rattle of chains as the wind shifts, perking up and readying himself to fly. Zorro grips him suddenly, getting yanked. 

“Arsene, get down!” He hisses, glancing at the others quickly for them to slide down even farther. “And stay quiet.”

“What, why?” Arsene asks, poking his head out slightly.

He hears the chains get louder as the source of it crests the corner. It was a brown and red, raggedy clothed figure, stitches running along different sections of its body, black chains draped around it as it floated above the ground. He also saw a smaller white figure moving through the battlefield, being stalked by the thing.

“That thing will kill you without a second thought.”

“It's following someone.”

Arsene struggles to break Zorro’s hold, torso half out the hole in the wall. He cups his hands over his mouth.

“Hey!” He shouts toward the figure.

“ _ Arsene! _ ” 

Zorro yanks him down and slaps a hand over his mouth, dropping his sword.

“ _ Do you have a death wish?  _ What did I just say?!”

He feels Zorro move to look, Okumura also being curious and looking outside as well. Milady had a hold on her father, ready to pull him back quickly. He hums an amused note.

“Ah, that must be the Ferryman then.”

Zorro drops his hand, picking up his sword again.

“The what?” Arsene whispers, looking back out the window.

The red thing was staring in their general direction, but it felt as if it was digging claws into his very soul. It made him shiver. The white figure also stopped for a few moments, then slowly moved out of sight. Zorro sighs in relief, pressing his back against the half wall.

“Let's save stories for when we get back to base, okay?”

The six of them go back down and continue on their way, taking care of a few bolder creatures that stayed behind after the huge monster died.

~~~~~~~

“So, what's the verdict,  my dear Pallbearer?”

The Reaper looked to its companion after a shout causes both of them to turn around. It watches out of the corner of its eye as he shifts his grip on his golden bow, his expression a mix of confusion and concentration. Red eyes stared back at him after a few moments of silence as the Pallbearer shook his head.

“No one is dying or dead in that direction. It's also for certain a different voice than the others, curious.” He hums a note, losing himself in thought. “I assume they were shouting at me.”

“Haha, perhaps they were worried about little old you?” 

“Hmph.”

The Pallbearer crosses his arms over his chest. The Reaper chuckles fondly.

“Always so serious, my dear companion.”

The Pallbearer turns back around, walking down towards the dead behemoth, the building disappearing from sight as they continued on. They had dead to collect and the dying to comfort, and they couldn't waste time chasing after strange voices.


	2. In Passing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arsene and his friends make it back safely, taking a breather before the next wave of creatures come. The next few huge monsters they have to face prove quite the challenge, even for Arsene.

“So… the Ferryman?” Arsene starts, sitting crossed legged, head at a tilt.

They made it inside without being found by the chained creature, with only a few scraps here and there as a handful of the grey things tried to pick them off.

“Oh, yes, that.” Okumura chuckles, folding his hands in his lap. “The Ferryman works for the Reaper. The Reaper is that huge one with the chains, kind of horrifying really, worse so up close. The Ferryman is the only one the Reaper won't kill.”

“Father, almost no one calls him that anymore,” Milady interrupts with a sigh and smile. “They call him the Pallbearer now.”

“Bah, they don't know what they say. Besides, he still collects fares. I have mine on me, just in case. I pity those poor souls caught without one.”

At this, Okumura produces a gold coin, a strange helmet shape on one side and a book on the other. He spins it slowly, Arsene mesmerized by the shine in the light. He puts the coin away, patting it.

“Does he have a name?” Arsene asked, wings unfurling slightl

“None that any of us know. Besides, saying his name would just draw Death to you before your time. It's bad luck.”

Sae speaks up, amused. The concern could be read as genuine if she didn't have a sparkle in her eye.

“Isn't seeing him also bad luck?”

Okumura shook his head. 

“No, just his real name. But he certainly is a sight to see with the Reaper standing over him, huh?”

“Will we ever get to see him again?”

“My money’s on no.” Kidd speaks up from where he’s sitting. “Man’s a loner, ‘sides, he’s always behind the fighting. Doubt he’d even get anywhere near the front lines.”

Arsene hums, slightly disappointed in that. The white figure piqued his curiosity, and it seemed like he wasn't going to see him again.

~~~~~~~~

“Master, is it true the Trickster will die after the war is over?”

The Reaper looked over to the Pallbearer staring off into the sky, following something with his eyes. It became curious, pondering what he meant by the question.

“Why do you ask?”

“I think I will simply miss the sight of him flying. It's magnificent. Like a… vulture, or a raven almost. That's what he looks like way up there.”

The Reaper follows his gaze to the black and red dot near the clouds, wheeling and drifting on air pockets. Looking back down at his face, it noticed his fond expression, making it curious.

“The Trickster will have a short time for goodbyes. You've been through this before.”

“I know. Just, none of the other Tricksters could fly like that.”

“Don't get too caught up in his flight, my dear. We still have work to do.”

The Pallbearer snaps his gaze to match its own for a moment.

“Yes, of course. Duty comes first.” He muttered.

He rolls his shoulder around as he turns, following the thread to the next corpse they have to take care of.

~~~~~~~~

The next behemoth they had to fight was a sight to behold. It shimmered in the light, deerlike, almost flat, everything around it reflected in its skin, a living, multi-faceted mirror. Legions of the gilded grey creatures swarmed around its footsteps, swallowing mesmerized people in sheer numbers. Arsene was getting blinded by it at certain angles, the light reflecting into his flight path as he tried to circle it. Any closer would earn him a strike from its razor sharp, serrated antlers. It did not speak, instead preferring to turn its eyeless gaze in haughty silence upon them. It had a few cracks spidering up on its legs, but nothing that slowed it down.

“I can't get close to the thing!” Arsene snarled as he landed by Zorro, Carmen and Goemon. “It keeps blinding me.”

“If we can make a bigger crack, I might be able to break its leg.” Goemon suggested. “I would need to get closer though.”

“Right. Goemon, Carmen, with me. Arsene, distract it.” Zorro ordered, turning on his heel, the other two close behind him.

Arsene took to the air again, flying lower to make it easier to avoid a sweep of its horns. He threw a couple of curse spells at it, getting its attention as the other three made their way closer to the swarm and its legs.  As the fight wore on, the trio got within distance right as Arsene flew just a bit too close and was struck by its antler, shredding up his wing. He spiraled downwards as he tried to slow down. He hit the ground hard.

“Arsene are you okay?!” Necronomicon shouted in his ear.

Arsene groaned, slowly pushing himself up, a sharp pain in his leg making him flinch. The snarling of a pack of creatures told him they were closing in on him. He turned around, claws out, trying to stay steady on his feet. He was aware dimly in the back of his mind how much of his blood was covering him as his leg was in stabbing pain. The mirror was very far away from wherever he was.The creatures did not give him any time to recover, surrounding him. He tried to fly away, to give himself some space, but he cried out and landed again, wobbling. One beast took this opportunity to clamp down on his shoulder, slamming him into the ground and pinning him. The others piled onto him, teeth tearing at his body as he tried to fight them off, screaming. He was acutely aware of a deafening cracking sound before he blacked out, the last few seconds he saw a silhouette and a flash of blue.

 

“-sene, Arsene.” a voice said, gently shaking him awake.

He groaned again, eyes flickering open to Carmen standing over him, concerned. He tries to sit up, being held firmly by her hand.

“Don't. Just rest for a moment.”

“Yeah, you looked awful when you were brought here.” Captain Kidd chimed in, somewhere outside of his vision.

He mouthed his question, failing to say anything before he coughed and tried again.

“Who…?”

“Dunno. Wore white, had a gold bow on his back and you over his shoulder. Said he found you and handed you off to me. He was also injured, but he took off before I could suggest he come with me.” Kidd answered, shrugging.

Arsene was about to ask another question about the person before Necronomicon runs towards him, skidding to a stop near the bed he was laid on.

“Arsene, are you hurt??”

“He's gonna be fine. I healed his wounds, and made sure his leg was set back in place beforehand.”

“What happened to the thing?”

“Goemon shattered its leg and it came crashing down. Then we kept attacking it until it stopped moving. It's dead.”

Arsene heaved a sigh of relief. He carefully pushed himself up with Carmen's guidance and support so that he was sitting. He stretched his wings experimentally, checking for deeper injuries. He lost a few feathers, but nothing dire happened.

~~~~~~~~~

He sucked air through his teeth as he eased himself into the pool of water, speaking the words to activate a certain function. The Reaper watched silently as the Pallbearer started cleaning the wounds as they healed, bow, quiver and sword just within reach.

“It pays to be more careful.” He mused.

The Pallbearer turned to look at him with a sigh.

“The Trickster was not supposed to die there.”

“Yet you could've called me to help you.”

He sank lower into the water, wincing again. No response.

“They had healers.”

“Their attention was better spent on him. These are minor wounds anyway.”

The Reaper hummed, staring at its faithful servant as he bit back another groan. There was something going on with him, under the surface, and it just made the Reaper confused about the situation.

“I just don't like seeing you get hurt, because usually you ignore your injuries.”

“Duty comes first. Small injuries are not a hindrance for the most part.”

“Take care of yourself. It wouldn't do to lose you now if you push too hard.”

The Pallbearer said nothing, a flicker of guilt passing his face. The Reaper didn't comment, just brushing a few strands of chestnut hair out of his face.

~~~~~~~

_White figure. White should be easy to spot, right?_

Arsene flapped his wings until he caught the edge of a thermal draft, letting it take him up. He was scanning the ground, trying to find that figure again. Or even the red one, so that he could know the white one was nearby. Glittering caught his eye, Arsene drifting down to it. He saw it was the remains of the behemoth, mirrored shards digging into the earth like fingers. They made the landscape sparkle, the shimmering aftermath of what so recently stalked the world. He moved on, careful not to cut himself as he did a sweep of the area.

_Where are all the corpses anyway?_ He realized after some time. _They should be everywhere._

No bodies anywhere. It struck Arsene so suddenly he skidded across the ground. He looked about him, listening for the rattle of chains. No sound. He did see something in the dirt up ahead, curiosity driving him. It was an imprint of a body, paw prints all over it and another set of footprints walking in the other direction. He lifted his foot over them, comparing his and the mystery ones on the ground. Similar size, but his feet were narrower. He followed the trail, not looking where he was going until he clanged his horns against metal. He snapped his head up to a gate, beyond that a graveyard. He pushed the gate open, wandering the path up to a stone grey building. The door didn't budge when he pushed. He knocked. Nothing. He walked to the nearest tombstone, discovering there was a freshly dug hole. Inside was a simple wooden casket, only partially covered in dirt.

_Odd. Must have needed to go somewhere._

Arsene hummed as he turned on his heel and flew back to base.

Another large monster appeared, scarab like, its shell a deep black that stole the light from the air around it. It zipped around, tearing people apart, piece by piece. Those pieces were left in intricate piles and left to quickly rot in the sun, making everyone within a mile of them fatally sick. Everyone was having trouble concentrating, the smell overwhelming despite of their best efforts to get rid of the piles when they came across them.

“What the hell is this?” Arsene muttered as Johanna and Goemon were busy trying to kill the fast flying beetle, Carmen as a distraction.

The gray and gold creatures were different this time around too, a mockery of the dead, stitched and shambling and snarling. Arsene was doing his best, but this fight has gone on for too many days, the creatures not staying down until the fourth or fifth fatal strike. Arsene's breathing was a bit ragged, not having enough rest to keep his strength up, and it was starting to show. He spun around as he heard one of the beasts lunge for him, jumping back as a gold arrow with white feathers pierces the creature and pins it to the ground, dead. Another arrow struck as Arsene shook off his shock. He glanced up to see the white figure on some squat building, bow glinting in the sun. Arsene was painfully reminded he was still fighting, giving the offending beast a sharp kick. He found a reserve of energy somewhere deep in his core, the burst enough to keep the enemy at bay for the time being. He glimpsed the figure jumping down, running towards him, stopping on the slope above and aiming another arrow. The arrow skimmed passed his cheek as it hit a creature sneaking up behind him. He noticed the man’s red eyes, intense.

“We need to retreat here, we're losing too many!” Johanna sounded over the din of chaos.

His friends pull back, and he turns to the figure to try and catch up.

“Wait! I need to thank you!”

“You're welcome!” The man shouts back

“That's not what I meant!”

“Arsene, where are you?”

“Ugh, coming.”

He flies up quickly, hoping to see where he was running, but he lost the figure once again.

“Damn it.”

With a sharp snap, he flew towards the base, falling back with his friends.

_Next time. Next time._

~~~~~~~~

The Reaper notices its companion isn't nearby, a moment later hearing an animal yelping. It backtracks, seeing the Pallbearer fighting a small pack of the half-dead creatures, annoyed. A couple were already dead, a larger bipedal creature sauntering towards him. The Reaper gets into view of the creatures, the remaining beasts hissing and garbling at it before they run off, pulling the bipedal’s glare before it too left. The Pallbearer huffs, sheathing his sword but keeping his hand on its hilt.

“They're certainly getting bolder.” He muttered, walking back to his place by the Reaper's side.

“Then stay close.”

“Yes, Master.”

The two continued on their path, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been a long time coming. Work and class been kicking my ass in terms of having free time, and I will only get busier from here. I haven't forgotten! It's gonna be slow going for some time.


	3. By Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arsene finds the white figure again, and he is not giving up on catching up with him this time until he returns the favor.

Robin Hood gasped, pressing a hand to his own intact throat as he got air into his lungs. The hazy green obscuring his vision started clearing, the world slightly out of focus. He heard a scuttling behind him, taking a moment to speak in an ancient tongue and press a hand into the freshly dead body, making it disappear. He goes to stand up, when all of a sudden claws are digging into his back, making him yelp and drop his sword. He grabs the attacker, throwing it away from him. The creature hits the ground with a thump, getting back up again slowly. He draws his bow, shooting an arrow into the thing's eye before spinning around, seeing more of the creatures coming for him. The bipedal creature was back, half-pig, half dog, a wicked smile on its face as it sees him. Robin Hood begins firing arrows into the creatures, backing up slowly as they got close. He could feel blood ooze down his back, the monsters clawing at him and trying to crowd him, his sword out of reach for the moment. He blasts a good number of them with a strong bless spell, but he already felt drained.

“Oh, what's wrong, Archer? Big guard dog gone? All alone, you poor, interfering bastard? We would've had the Trickster torn to shreds if it weren't for you!” The pig-dog snarls, showing rows of sharp teeth.

**_Master, help me!_ ** He shouts through his mental link, knowing the Reaper was most likely too far to get to him in time.

He keeps firing arrows, backpedaling as fast as he reasonably could. A few creatures leaped at him, latching on and trying to pull him to the ground to pin him. Robin Hood yanks them off, kicking and throwing them away, feeling the pain of having ripped chunks of his body away with them. He hit his back against a wall, surrounded. Blood flowed freely now, and he was starting to get dizzy from its loss.

“You'll pay for what you've done, and we'll make sure you savor every moment of your torturous death.” 

He pulled the bowstring back as they advanced, determined to go down fighting.

~~~~~~~

Arsene hears a scratchy and high voice on the wind, all of them spread out a little to find that beetle after a fierce battle sent it limping off somewhere.

“Why won’t you give in already?!” The voice snarled.

Arsene whips himself around to head in that direction, seeing several creatures and a larger one in the distance. He dove at the group, letting out a wide spread curse spell, killing some of the creatures. The pig-dog creature snapped its head up right as Arsene slashed at its head. It snarled as he raked his claws across its face, hitting the ground and rolling around. The red-eyed man from earlier was pushed up against a ruined wall, bleeding heavily, while a couple of the creatures, though wounded already, had him by the arms and were making him kneel. A gold bow was on the ground in front of him, splattered in what Arsene assumed was the man’s own blood.Though it look like he was barely hanging in there, he was holding up his head in defiance.

“Oh, look who it is! Wolf Food has returned!” The now one-eyed creature spat at him.

Arsene rolled again as it swung at him, throwing a few curse spells at the hounds, killing them. The man dropped onto his hands and knees, groaning. Arsene slammed into the bipedal monster, making it stumble backwards. Arsene went toe to toe with it, and any other creature that tried to get in the middle of it was quickly taken care of. Arsene finished killing the last of the hounds and spins around right as the pig-dog screams, an arrow through its other eye. Arsene glances to see the man standing, propping himself up with his bow, arm falling to his side. Arsene rushes in, tearing the creature apart.

“Hey, are you-”

Arsene turns to find the man gone. 

“Oh fuck no.” He whispers, taking to the air.

“Arsene, where the hell did you go?” Necro demanded, an edge of worry to her voice.

“Don't worry about it, just focus on finding that beetle thing. Someone is badly hurt and I have to find him.”

“What?!”

_ He's surprisingly fast for someone bleeding so much. _

“We lost it again?!” Necro huffed in his ear, talking to someone else.

Arsene spotted the man in the graveyard, disappearing into the stone building. He flies down, landing a fair distance down the path. He sees the man kneeling just beyond the entrance, shaking badly.

“Hey.” He calls out to him gently, walking over to him.

The man jumps, whipping around to see him approach. 

“Let me help.”

Arsene kneels down next to him, taking the roll of bandages out of his hand. He starts to wrap them around like Zorro taught him. The man straightens up, wincing, trying to take the bandages back.

“Let me do it.” He rasped.

“Just stay still for now.”

The man tries to take the bandages back again, but suddenly collapses onto him, a hiss falling from his lips as Arsene catches him. Arsene shifts to finish putting on the bandages, the stranger letting him.

“I think you need to see one of my friends, they have healing magic.”

“Oh, I know. I didn't want to be a bother.” The man mumbled.

Arsene shifts again to better support his weight. He was really gorgeous, the few strands of chestnut hair falling in front of his face, the toned muscles under all that blood, the softness of his face.

“Necro, can you get either Zorro, Johanna or Carmen to the mausoleum? Someone's badly injured, I can't leave him like this.”

“Ha, yes you can. We'll be fine.” The man sank deeper into him as he spoke.

“Zorro's on his way.” She responded.

“Can I at least get your name?” Arsene asked, trying to keep him awake.

“Robin Hood.”

“Arsene.”

Arsene pressed a hand to his chest, trying to slow down the blood flow even a little. After a few minutes, Arsene saw Zorro approach them.

“Holy shit.” Zorro muttered, running over to them.

“We're good, promise.” Robin Hood slurred. “Leave us.”

“No.” Arsene and Zorro said at the same time.

“Tell you what, I'll heal the worst of it. The smaller cuts I'm not worried about, Arsene covered those.”

Zorro presses his hand onto Robin Hood's shoulder, speaking rapidly. There was a bit of coughing as some of the blood stopped flowing, now just a trickle. 

“Gotta get back. Coming, Arsene?”

“In a minute.”

Zorro nodded and left, leaving the two alone again. 

“You okay?”

“Yes, yes. We will be. Need alone time.”

“Okay, I'm gonna let go now.”

Arsene saw Robin Hood sit up for a moment before slumping against the wall. He gave a thumbs up, not turning as Arsene slowly backed up and flew off towards his friends.

 

They eventually tracked down the beetle creature to a bank it was using as a hideout, laying a trap designed by Johanna so it couldn't run off again. They managed to kill it after a struggle, the beetle calling for help from nearby creatures. They cleared out the bank of the creatures, talking on whether or not they should move operations here. They spent the night there, too tired to feel confident making it back.

~~~~~~

The Reaper tisked at him as it shook its head. It was sitting over him, cupping his face, but he didn't pull away this time.

“You look so pitiful, Pallbearer.”

He was back in the pool, sunk in up to his chin, bandaged up.

“We made it though.”

“Barely. My apologies I didn't make it on time.”

“Mm. They caught me coming down from a death. I was unprepared.”

“Who bandaged you?”

“The Trickster. Even got a friend to heal the worst injuries.”

“This is why I want you to be a little less stubborn, Pallbearer. Get help from them when I can't reach you.”

“Okay, okay. I get it.”

The Reaper sighs, guilt flicking over its companion’s face. 

“Sorry Master. I should not get snippy with you, you are just worried.”

“Just stay safe, Pallbearer. That is all I ask of you.”

~~~~~~~

It had been some time since more of the creatures attacked, possibly regrouping somewhere given they’ve defeated three behemoths now. Arsene lands in front of the graveyard gate, looking inside. He could hear someone shoveling dirt, and he spotted Robin Hood up by the mausoleum. Arsene pushes the gate open, quietly going up the path. He saw a few other coffins resting near him, Robin Hood patting down a freshly dug grave.

“Hey.”

Robin Hood turns around, surprised. He looked over him, putting the shovel down and to the side.

“Hello, I wasn't expecting you to visit.” 

His voice was smooth and pleasant, a sharp contrast to the gasping raspiness it was the other day. Arsene glances around.

“You… live here?”

“Yes? Someone has to take care of the dead, to honor them.”

It was quiet as Arsene processed that.

“Um, would you like to come inside for a bit?” Robin Hood asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh. Sure. Uh, thanks.”

Robin Hood opened the door to the mausoleum, gesturing him inside. Arsene looks around, wings unfolding as he takes in every new thing. 

“So… what do you do, exactly?” Arsene walked around, wings half open.

He bumps into something, it rolling around its edge.

“Careful! Careful!”

Robin Hood shoves him aside, catching the urn before it fell to the floor. 

“Sorry.” Arsene mutters.

Robin Hood sighed, hefting the urn up more.

“You're lucky it's just full of coins. Are you hurt?”

Arsene shakes his head. He watches Robin Hood put the urn back on the shelf, pushing it further against the wall. 

_ Oh, he's cute when he's flustered. _

Arsene turns his face away as he catches himself staring, slightly embarrassed now. He feels himself being pushed forward, being led to an open chamber, a pool of turquoise water in the center. It threw up bluish light onto the grey stone,  making it a bit warmer visually. The gold bow was suspended on the wall on the opposite wall. 

“Oh, the water is beautiful.”

“Yeah, but don't touch it, it'll make you sick.”

Arsene moves to the other side, grabbing his bow off the wall. He was inspecting it, seeing all the intricate detail work decorating the bow itself.

“Arsene…” Robin says, his tone slightly amused.

“Sorry, I've seen you use it, but never seen it up close.” He apologizes as he puts it back.

“You're very curious for a Trickster.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Robin is caught off guard by that and lets out a laugh. Arsene's jaw drops at the sound, his heart skipping a beat. 

"It's just funny, sorry." 

Arsene closes his mouth and clears his throat awkwardly. 

"I asked you something earlier "

“Hm? Oh, well... I'm the Pallbearer, you see. I take care of the dead and dying."

"Oh." 

Arsene grabs his arm, worried now. He look surprised again at the sudden closeness.

"Are... is... you know, with the war and all..." 

"I'm just busy, that's all. Death doesn't really bother me." 

Arsene lets go, playing with the edges of his feathers. 

"Can I call you Robin?" 

"Oh, that's fine. You can call me whatever really, superstitions and all that, haha." 

"Aha, yeah, that. Well, um, I should let you get back to that, huh?" 

"If you don't mind." 

"Yeah, okay, I will. Bye, Robin. See ya around!" 

"Oh, yeah, you too."

Arsene lands in the safe house, sighing. 

"I just grabbed his bow without thinking about it or even asking him? What the hell is wrong with me?"

~~~~~~~

Robin Hood sighs, smacking his forehead with his palm. 

"Call me  _ whatever, _ really?? Real smooth, Robin."

He goes back out to continue burying the dead, not even realizing the Reaper came back a few minutes later.

“So, that's what's going on with you, huh?” 

Robin Hood jumps, turning around.

“Master? What do you mean?” 

“I can read your thoughts. Smitten by him, are you?”

He flushes, whipping around again. He busies himself with his task.

“He saved my life, that's all! He just interests me...”

“Pallbearer…”

“I know, duty comes first. I'm not going to drop everything over him.”

The Reaper watches him with detached interest for the rest of the burials. 

~~~~~~

"Carmen he's gorgeous, I'm telling you. The way his red eyes glow in the light, his hair such a pretty chestnut. His laugh sounds so soft and sweet and I want him to keep making that sound. I want to be the one that causes him to laugh like that." Arsene rambles, eyes sparking. 

"Sounds like you're in love."

Arsene stares. 

"What?" 

"Oh, what, shy now, lover boy?" She teases him, laughing. "Sounds like you got a crush on him." 

Arsene was silent for a moment. 

"Do you think he likes me too?" 

"I wouldn't know. Ask him."

“I… I don't think you know how much I can't do that…” Arsene stutters, blushing.

Carmen shrugs, amused.

“You face down some of the biggest threats without breaking a sweat but get the jitters over asking your crush if he likes you? That's pretty funny.”

“It's not the same, you know that!”

“Relax, Arsene, I'm only teasing you. You don't have to anytime soon. At least work up the courage in the meantime, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Sounds like a plan!”

Carmen giggles again, getting up.

“Hey, come on. Let's go see what everyone else is up to.”

Arsene follows her, relieved she stopped teasing him about his “crush”, as she called it.

~~~~~~

Robin Hood runs into the whole group after they make a huge mechanical dragon retreat, everyone looking exhausted. They seemed to be on their way home, so Robin tried to go around them. Unfortunately Arsene perks right up when he sees him, gliding over to him.

“Robin!”

“Hello again, Arsene.”

_ “I'll be up ahead. Don't keep me too long.”  _  The Reaper murmured into his mind.

“Hey, I know you. You brought Arsene back the other day but didn't bother to answer my question.” Kidd pipes up, staring him down.

“Huh?” Robin Hood tilts his head, confused.

“The day with the huge mirror deer thing. You gave me Arsene.”

“Oh! Sorry, I couldn't hear anything that day.”

“What?”

“Oh! This is my new friend, Robin Hood!”

He smiles and gives them a little wave. The astronaut stares hard at him.

“You're the Ferryman, correct?”

Robin blinks in surprise before he chuckles.

“Oh wow, haha, no one has called me that in years.” 

“Oh, so you're the one we saw the other day with the Reaper?” Zorro asked.

“...Did you shout at me?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry, that was me. It was following you and they just told me it kills people.” Arsene admitted.

“Well, thanks for the concern? Oh, I have to get going. My master is waiting for me up ahead.”

Robin Hood dashes away, despite Arsene's complaining. Luckily Arsene didn't follow or he would have seen the blush on his cheeks.

“Busy crushing on the Trickster to stay focused, Pallbearer?”

“Sorry. He came to me, it would've been rude not to say hi.”

The Reaper hums a knowing note, smug. Robin Hood rolls his eyes, walking off to investigate the recent battlefield.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rare block of free time. Lots of editing and writing still to go. Still very busy :P


	4. A Push

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two more behemoths, a death and a confession. Morale is getting a little low.

They weren’t sure if the sudden surge of sludge was sentient or not at first. It mucked about everything, slowing everything down and sucking down anything it touched greedily. The stuff advanced at a snail’s pace, covering everything. It wasn’t until a few days had passed and a shadow blocked out the sun for a brief moment, followed by the sludge making a circle for a giant mechanical dragon to land, that they realized it was alive. It was all gold and green rounded plastic, all simple shapes with a sword-like edge to its clunky triangle claws and teeth. The gold and grey creatures changed too, half of them flying, melting wax humanoids and the other half rusted robotic quadrupeds. Fighting was more exhausting seeing as they had to either keep moving or trudge through the energy-sapping ooze. The dragon was flying around, diving at them at random, making it even more difficult.

“Someone get to the hospital! The enemy's breaking through!”

Milady gasped, quickly slamming a psy attack into a bunch of mechanical creatures, making their pieces scatter.

“No!”

She runs off, Arsene following close behind her.

“Carmen, can you get over there?”

“I can try!”

The mass of creatures was pushing into the building, some being flung back outside. Milady and Arsene burst through, finding Okumura struggling to stay standing, horribly injured.

“Father!”

Milady starts fighting her way to them, Arsene right behind. He falls to the floor right as they get to him, groaning. Milady and Arsene put themselves in front of him as another wave of creatures break through. A burst of fire let the two of them know Carmen had made it, dropping onto the floor beside Okumura. The wave subsided finally, the mechanical beasts now so much scrap scattered across the trashed hospital.

“Necro, I need Johanna and Zorro over here, I'm not able to do anything for him.”

“Sending them your way.”

Milady kneels down, her fury melting away to teary worry. Arsene stands back as Zorro and Johanna rush in, taking places around Okumura. Carmen quickly explains the situation, and the other two try their own thing.

“Together maybe? I've never seen something like this.” Johanna said.

The three of them speak their spells at the same time, waiting a moment or two.

“There's… there's no change in his condition.” Zorro says, astonished.

Okumura shakily takes out the coin and puts it under his tongue.

“Father…” Milady is panicking now. “There, there has to be something! You can't tell me there's nothing you can do!”

“I'm sorry…” Johanna murmurs, shaking her head.

Arsene gets an idea.

“Wait, Robin Hood.”

“What? Why?”

“He saved my life before. He might be the one to ask. Come on, we need to try!”

Milady scoops up her father's body, letting herself be carried by Arsene. He rushes out and into the air, flying as fast as he could towards the graveyard. He lands and puts Milady down in front of the mausoleum, bursting inside.

“ _Robin Hood!_ ” He yells.

Robin Hood jumps, running towards him.

“What? Arsene, what are you-?”

He stops mid-sentence as he sees a dying Okumura in Milady's arms.

“Help him. Please.”

"Why are you here? Why didn't you take him to Johanna? Zorro? Carmen, even?"

"They can't do anything for him.” Milady mutters, shaking.

“There has to be something you can do. Please, Robin."

"I can't promise anything, Milady."

They watch Robin Hood try to heal him before he suddenly scoops her father from Milady's arms.

“I can at least make it painless.”

The two quickly follow him to the open chamber.

“Stay back, don't touch me, got it?”

They nod and stand by as they watch Robin cradle the dying man as he steps into the water, sitting down.

“I can't do much more than relieve the pain. I’m sorry.” He murmurs continuously,  soothing Okumura.

Robin Hood soothes him for a while when he suddenly stops, biting his lip hard, muffling a scream. Arsene reaches for him as Robin sinks into the water but Milady stops him. They see her father still after a few moments. Robin Hood still isn't resurfacing. Arsene leans forward. Suddenly he emerges, gasping and shaking, his head lolling onto the stone edge, his eyes clouded.

"Robin?"

He blinks a few times, staring right through him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do much more, Milady. But he loves you, he's proud of you."

She nodded, understanding and upset.

"Thank you, Pallbearer. I need some time..."

She leaves silently, keeping her composure. Arsene is worried, crouching over him.

"Arsene, go home. I'll be okay."

"You're bleeding."

"Please. I need to prepare the body. Arsene, they need you. I'll be fine."

"I'm staying."

Arsene touches his forehead to his.

"Arsene. Leave." Robin growls, struggling to push him off.

Arsene gently wipes his bottom lip, bitten to the point of bleeding. Robin stares at him, confused.

"Why?" He whispers, voice hoarse.

"I'm worried about you."

His eyes flutter closed again, slipping a little into the water. Arsene panics, freezing as he groans. Robin Hood stirs after several minutes, getting up, Arsene following him closely as he prepares the body. Robin Hood places the body down on a slab of stone, closing the hallway off.

"She needs to figure out how she wants him honored."

Arsene nods quietly, shifting to let him pass and lead them both to the main chamber. Robin Hood opens the door to the hallway outside, gesturing.

"Robin, one night won't kill you."

Robin Hood sighs, closing it.

"I'm not sure what you want from me." Robin mutters.

Arsene kissed the back of his hand.

"I want to thank you for saving me. And check if those bandages need changing."

"They're fine. I'm fine, I don't need help."

"But you're lonely here."

"That's never been a problem before."

"Are you sure?"

Robin stares at him, lost in thought. Arsene brushes his fingertips against his cheek, Robin tensing up.

"Sorry." Arsene mumbles, pulling his hand away.

Robin coughs into his hand a little, sitting down on the floor and leaning on the wall, exhausted. Arsene kneels down, worried.

"Are you okay?"

"It caught up to me. It'll pass soon." He responds, voice cracking a little.

Arsene touches foreheads with him again, keeping watch for any sudden change in his demeanor. Arsene reluctantly leaves in the morning, bidding Robin farewell.

~~~~~

“I’ve never seen or felt anything like that before.”

The Reaper glances down at his slumped form. Robin Hood gets up slowly, wincing.

“Yes, that is very strange, especially that it's still affecting you now. Hmmm.”

“It was just a bit stronger than others. I'm fine.”

It watches Robin Hood carefully until it was satisfied he was truly okay.

“Remember to relax sometime.”

~~~~~

Milady was on a warpath, almost tearing that mechanical dragon apart once they got its defenses down. She was furious, silently stewing on their way back, refusing any healing for her injuries. She disappeared once they got inside, everyone else trying to figure out what needed to happen next. Arsene went off to see if she was okay, quietly sitting next to her and wrapping a wing around her as she cried.

“This is hard… this is so hard without him.” She whispered, leaning onto his shoulder.

He pulled her into a hug, deciding not to say anything. Arsene let her cry into his shoulder some more, simply comforting her as she grieved.

~~~~~~~

He looked at His remaining children, troubled. The Group proved to be much stronger than He had anticipated. The last two were slumbering peacefully, undisturbed by the changing tides. Killing morale for one was simple enough, yet it was too early to tell how much it would actually affect them. He did not want to get to the last one. It frightened Him, the thought of losing control, of betrayal. Yet, poking through its mind, He saw no such thing. Paranoia did not often give way to logic, though. He set about waking up His second oldest, soft and cautious. He set the task, and its glance at the oldest was not reassuring in the least, but He could not let His child know that. He kept His face blank, listening and clarifying before the child went on its way.

~~~~~~~

Robin Hood could not stop thinking about Arsene. The way he worried over him after Okumura's death, the care he took in wiping the blood from his lips. How fiery eyes could be so soft, claws just as gentle. His wings looked so much more grand up close, the quiet blue undertones to his feathers apparent at that distance. Someone else who cared and fretted about him the way The Reaper did.

_Oh, I have it bad._

He got to thinking about the end of the War. How unfair it was that he would outlive Arsene afterwards. He wasn't sure if he could take it, at least not without getting how he felt about him off his chest before that day came.

_Next time he comes. Next time._

~~~~~~~

It took some time before Arsene could visit Robin Hood again. The creatures have been relentless, and now that there was a break in the fighting after killing the sludge, he got away as soon as he could to see Robin Hood. He looked to be just cleaning up as Arsene landed, glancing up at his approach.

“Arsene?”

“Hey Robin. You look much better than the last time I saw you. How are you?”

“Not bad, how are you? Fighting’s getting rough, right?”

“Mhm. But we have it under control. My friends and I make a good team.”

“I can see that. Why are you here?”

“To see you, silly! I missed you.”

Robin turned away, picking up the shovel again. He nervously chuckled as he put the shovel away.

“This isn't the best place to visit, honest. I'm flattered you thought to check up on me though.”

He invited Arsene inside with a gesture, Arsene accepting. Arsene kept his wings folded this time until they got to the open chamber.

“You know, when I'm with you, this isn't so bad.”

“Hm?”

“Oh, um, me and tight spaces don't really get along, haha.”

“Ah, makes sense. Well, it's all I have to offer unless you want to wander the graveyard with me.”

“No, no! This is fine, honest!”

“I mean, we can sit on the steps too, we don't have to go anywhere.”

“I… uh, okay, that sounds nice, actually.”

Robin closed the door behind him as Arsene settled on the steps. He sat down next to him, moving the strands of hair out of his face. Arsene started talking, asking him a lot of questions. Robin Hood nodded, answered as many as he felt like before he turned questions back on him. After an hour of conversation, Arsene looks up at the night sky. He could feel Robin stare at him, searching his face for something.

“Oh, wow. The stars are so bright here.”

Arsene was in complete awe, leaning back a little to get a better view. He caught a smile on Robin's face as he stargazed.

“Hey, Arsene?”

“Yeah?”

He didn't take his eyes off the sky.

“I want to let you know I'm in love with you.”

Arsene laughs, looking over to Robin Hood. He playfully punches him in the shoulder.

“Don't… Don't say stuff like that. That's a cruel joke, don't you know?”

Robin Hood's face dropped for a moment before he quickly turned away from him.

“Ahuh... Anyways, it... seems my master is calling me, sorry. Goodbye.”

Robin stood up quickly and opened the door. It was halfway closed before Arsene decided to say something.

“Oh. See you around, then?”

“Maybe.”

He closes the door on Arsene. Arsene gets up, taking a few steps and flying off.

 

The next few days were very busy, some smaller waves of enemies testing the waters with them. It got a bit quiet again, Arsene hanging around with Goemon and Carmen this time, rambling.

"I mean, it's a mean joke to make, joking about loving someone, but to react like that?" Arsene mutters after he's explained everything to Carmen and Goemon.

Carmen and Goemon exchange a glance, Arsene distracted by a loose feather.

"Arsene... darling... he confessed his love to you..."

Arsene's eyes widened. He slaps himself in the face, flopping over dramatically onto his back.

"Oooooh shit... He must hate me now. How did I fuck up this badly?!"

“Look, just go apologize to him. It seems like you're in love with him too, right? Just explain your feelings to him.” Goemon suggests, not looking up from sharpening his sword.

“If I can find him.” Arsene mumbles, dejected.

_Oh, I really fucked that up._

He bit his lip, replaying his blunder over and over again in his head.

~~~~~~

“So I was right.” The Reaper purrs, somewhat amused.

“It's fine, he doesn't feel the same way. I will get over it soon enough.”

“Pallbearer, just take a moment to fix your heart before you do something reckless.”

“I… I will. Don't worry.”

“I always do.”

“I know. It'll be okay. It would have been broken anyway.”

The Reaper watches the grief on his face slowly fade away to focused neutrality, putting some distance between himself and their home. The Reaper noted that he did not look up to the sky once during their rounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm tired of looking at this chapter. Arsene can be pretty oblivious. Poor Robin :(


	5. Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arsene makes things right with Robin Hood. The casino is their toughest and longest fight yet. Another mystery is uncovered.

“Oh, _damned_ _hell_.” Robin Hood hissed.

The Reaper chuckled at the mild swear as they stood in front of the casino. A huge amount of the creatures were milling about, the stench of rot pervasive and overwhelming.

“There's a bunch of dead in there. It's like they're… collecting them.”

“That's troubling.”

“I'm not sure how to retrieve them. There's too many for just me.”

“I'd rather not have you put yourself at unnecessary and avoidable risk, darling.”

Robin Hood taps his foot, lost in thought. He turns away, off to see if he could cut the creatures off from collecting more. The Reaper followed, knowing the mistake of being too far away from its servant to help.

~~~~~

Robin Hood saw a familiar sight near the clouds, ducking into the closest building to hide in. If only he hadn't confessed to Arsene, he would be still be able to enjoy the sight of him dancing in the air. Now it just made a pit form in his stomach. That was the worst part of it all, he decided. Not being able to observe without feeling sad. The Reaper expressed some sentiments to him, trying to cheer him up. He appreciated the effort, but it only reminded him how alone he was. He heaves a sigh, glancing around. He was determined to not run into Arsene again.

~~~~~

It's been a week since he last saw Robin Hood. Arsene knocks on the door, seeing Robin's face go from neutral to upset.

"Oh, should’ve expected it would be you. I'm busy, Arsene."

He tried to close the door, Arsene gripping the edge. Fingers wedged the door open a little so Arsene could look him in the eye. Robin sighs, opening the door so half of him was showing.

"No, wait, this won't take long. About last week-"

"Forget I said anything." He huffs.

"I'm really sorry, I am in love with you too just I was dumb and didn't think about what came out of my mouth and I know you probably hate me now."

"You're in love with me?"

"I'm so sorry, that was really dumb of me to say back there but I was caught off guard, and-"

Arsene stops mid sentence as Robin cups his face, pressing a thumb into his cheek, in awe.

"You're in love with me..."

"And you're in love with me."

Robin throws open the door and hugs him, gripping tight. Arsene returns the hug, relieved.

"Sorry for that. I didn't mean to break your heart like that."

"I forgive you. I really am busy though, so sorry to just run off but I have to."

"Okay. Okay. Visit me some time?"

"I'll try. Until we meet again."

Robin Hood runs off after closing the door behind him. Arsene smiles, thankful he was able to fix that problem.

 

They run into him again on the battlefield, Robin trying to communicate by signing. Unfortunately, Kidd and Arsene had no clue how. Some more creatures crest the hill after him, so the three of them just decide to drop it for now. It was a quick fight, the creatures already weakened.

"Hey, anyone know sign?" Kidd asks through Necro's link.

"I do, Johanna knows some. Why?"

"Arsene's friend here can't talk, and neither of us understand him."

"I'm on my way."

Necro shows up before too long, much to their relief. Robin Hood makes some rapid hand gestures, Necro nodding along. She signs back something, and he nods.

"He can hear us, he just has no voice right now."

Robin gets her attention, signing something that made her scrunch her face in worry.

"Where?"

He answers, having to pause once or twice to think of the right gesture.

"Right. Now, then?"

He shakes his head, making a quick gesture.

"Gotcha, we'll wait for you... oh, before you-"

He turns and runs off again before she could finish.

"Robin, wait!" Arsene calls after him, but he just waves in response.

"So... what did he say?"

"There's a huge nest of the beasts in the casino, seems he only knows because they've been hoarding corpses for some reason and he can't get to them. He wants us to help clear it out a little later."

"Ugh, gross. Sae's not gonna be too happy about that."

"I know. Speaking of, let's go."

The three of them explain the situation to the group. Later, they head there wanting to see for themselves. Robin Hood is already waiting for them at the casino, a fair distance away from the building.

"Hi Robin! Did you get your voice back?"

He shakes his head, making a hand gesture.

“He's saying tomorrow."

"Sheesh, that's rough lad."

"Right, well then. Shall we go in?" Sae asks, clearly impatient.

He gestures for them to follow him, slipping in through a side door that had been busted open.

"Charming." Sae muttered.

They are very careful sneaking around, heading up to the second floor. Robin stops, turns around and signs something.

"Too many big ones." Necro translated in their heads, signing back a question. "Not sure. Maybe. Are we all at full strength to fight these things? Says it might take a long time to push through to the nest itself."

"I'm a bit spent." Carmen murmured.

Everyone else whispered agreement, Necro signing that to Robin. He nods, following behind them as they leave for now.

"Meet here in the morning?" Zorro asks.

Robin nods, giving a wave and running off again.

“Necro, can you _please_ teach me sign language some time?”

“So you can impress your crush?”

Arsene blushes hard, hiding his face. Necro laughs, slapping him on the back.

“I'll think about it.”

 

The next day they meet up again. Robin Hood smiles as they approach, standing up.

“Ready?”

“Wait, before you run off again.”

Necronomicon presses a palm against his arm, weaving a spell. She drops her hand and takes a step back.

“There, now we can talk telepathically.”

“Ah. Prepare for a third party from my end then. Let's go.”

They follow him through the side door and back onto the second floor. Inside, the whole floor smelled of decaying bodies and blood, the walls and ceiling of the place crawling with slightly shimmery greenish gold arachnid creatures, while smaller wolflike grey and gold ones prowled the halls. They break off into smaller groups and quietly pick off the big spider creatures one by one, moving carefully so as to not get found and surrounded. Deep inside, they found a massive network of webs, several dead bodies cocooned in the strands, while a gigantic, gaudy, gold, red and black widow spider picked through the pile of corpses in the middle of the room. Arsene grabbed Robin Hood's shoulder when he saw him tense up, visibly pissed. He glanced back at him, taking a deep breath.

“Everyone ready? This will be a tough fight.” Necro asked everyone.

“It just had to be spiders.” Sae grumbled.

“Let's do this.” Arsene presses to the front, ready to lead the charge.

They charge into the room, getting in a burst of spells as they startled it. It simply hissed at them, attempting to trap them all in its webs. It managed to bite Goemon, him falling back, stumbling.

“Don't let it bite you!”

Zorro dropped back to remove the poison from him as Sae stepped in to take his place. It was a long battle, several more of the creatures coming to the giant spider's rescue. Carmen set fire to its web, drawing its attention to her. Goemon followed up by freezing a leg to the floor as Sae leapt up and punched it. It screeched so loudly as it fell they had to cover their ears. Robin shot an arrow through the side of its head, getting a slash across his chest in kind. All of them kill the thing, stopping to catch their breath. Arsene slid over to Robin Hood as Carmen healed his cut, leaving the two alone.

“You okay?”

“Fine. Need to do clean up in here. It's gonna take a while. Oh, wait.”

He turns to the rest of them.

“Hey, avoid this room for a while. The Reaper is going to come help me with this.”

“We gotta clear out the rest of this place anyway.” Kidd says.

Arsene is the last to leave, running into the Reaper on his way out. He freezes, backing up quickly.

“Lucky you, I am needed right now.” The Reaper says, before it leans into him real close. “If you break his heart again, Trickster, I will personally destroy you.”

“Understood!”

He flies away as fast as he can, catching up to Johanna to help her.

~~~~~~

“Ah, you already started.”

Robin glances at it, going back to casting his magic.

“Yes, but I'm a little worn already. And you didn't have to threaten him, Master. We're fine now.”

“Oh, I know. But just in case he gets any ideas…”

“Master.”

“Come now, I am only joking my dear. I know you care for him.”

“Mhmm.”

As they go about, Robin Hood stops, hand hovering over the corpse he was kneeling beside. He noticed something odd about an unusually high number of the dead in this room, and his train of thought jumped tracks at the realization.

“Master, the bodies… a lot of them don't have hearts anymore.”

The Reaper perked up, staring at him for a moment. Robin was staring at the corpse he was working on, right through the hole in its chest straight to the floor. He had unconsciously noted it, but now it seized his attention.

“You're right, a lot of them were missing that. Possibly in this room, or inside the spider?”

“No, I would've felt that. And there would've been the smell of burning heart in here since Carmen burned the whole web network.”

Robin sent the body away finally, getting up, seeing that the spider's body was still there. He walked over to it, hand outstretched, reaching deep in his memories for a very particular spell.

“Pallbearer…”

He jumped a little, hand on the spider's corpse as he turned his head.

“I cannot guarantee that what you want to do will work the same. This thing is utterly different from you and I, and everyone else here. Are you sure?”

“I have to get to the bottom of this.”

The Reaper sighs in his mind as he turns back to the spider. He began working the unfamiliar, largely disused words on his tongue, closing his eyes as he concentrated. Darkness, then a pale golden light. A face? A glance of another large shape, a flash of fear and loathing, then everything was gone.

~~~~~~~

“What the hell??” Necro blurted out to all of them.

“What's wrong?” Johanna asked.

“I just lost connection to Robin Hood!”

“What?!” Arsene gasped.

He turned around to go back, leaving his back exposed to a couple of the creatures. Johanna yanks him back, a nuclear spell flashing a bright light as it killed the creatures they were fighting.

“Don't, the Reaper is still up there.”

“But-”

“Robin Hood? Robin Hood, are you there?”

“Robin is-" Arsene started, panicking.

“He'll be fine. Spell backfire. I'm handling it.” An unfamiliar voice flooded their minds, deep and rumbly.

It left just as quickly as it appeared.

“The… the Reaper can talk?” Necro whispered, shocked.

Arsene was nervous the whole rest of the fight.

~~~~~~~

“Pallbearer!”

He groaned, seeing the Reaper standing over him, concerned.

“You lost consciousness for a little while. Are you okay?”

He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

“Lose your voice again?”

He nodded, desperately trying to say anything to be reassured this was only temporary. He started signing rapidly at the Reaper, who cocked its head. He started to push himself up, suddenly getting hit with a wave of nausea.

“Steady, steady. Spell backfire is no joke.”

Robin Hood rolled to his hands and knees, coughing up specks of blood as it rushed out from deep within his chest. He put his hands together, head pressed into forearms as he started shaking. The Reaper sat next to him, crossing its legs, holding out a hand. He felt deeply unsettled, mentally counting the number of eyes and legs he should have right now.

“Ffff- fu- uk...” He managed to choke out before throwing himself over his master's lap, whimpering and digging his nails in hard.

“Shhh… I'm here now…” The Reaper soothed, running his claws up and down his back.

A half-strangled sob, more whimpering and coughing, a few tears came to pass before Robin could move again. He groaned, grabbing one of the Reaper's chains to start pulling himself up.

“What did you see?”

“Gold face, another one of those things, loathed, feared, couldn't get a good look at it. Fuuu- uh- uk.”

It felt like he hacked up his entire lung in one go. He felt the Reaper's free hand come up to steady him, it pulling him a bit closer to its body. Slowly, Robin stood up again, being able to move. The two of them worked tirelessly to clean the rest of the dead from the room, the sounds of fighting drifting to them from time to time.

~~~~~~~

Now that the casino was cleared out and cleaned up, they had the great idea to celebrate their victory. They hid as the Reaper floated out the door, chains rattling and echoing in the place. Arsene saw Robin Hood descend the stairs a few moments, heading for the closest door. Arsene cuts him off, stopping him. He noticed how pale and exhausted he looked, sparking worry in Arsene's chest.

“Celebrate with us?” He offered, holding out a hand.

Robin Hood grabs his hand and kisses the back of it, bowing slightly.

“Not for long, though. I must get back to my duties.”

Arsene leads him back to the group, already setting up for their victory bash.

“Oh, you decided to stay?” Goemon mused upon seeing Robin.

“Just for a little bit. I'm very busy.”

“Oh. You're okay! We lost connection for a moment.”

Arsene is happy that Robin fits right in, making easy conversation with everyone. He quietly comforts Milady as well, who nods and gives him a soft smile. Arsene manages to pull Robin Hood into a little dance, spinning around as he laughed. As time went on, Robin realized how late it was and started leaving without saying goodbye. Arsene chases him, grabbing his wrist and tugging him into an empty side room. Arsene holds his hands, gently rubbing circles into them as he talked.

"We’re planning on moving in here tonight, making this our headquarters. We can offer you a room here. A place to stay besides that lonely stone building. Won't you stay with me tonight?"

Robin Hood sadly smiles at him.

"I can't stay..."

Arsene lets him go, watching him rush off, sighing. He rejoins the party alone, wishing Robin was still by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is getting along with each other. But the gang knows the Reaper can talk now so that's something. It'll be some time before the next chapter is done, so in the meantime thabks for reading.


	6. Prophecy and Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arsene has become a little low-key obsessed with Robin Hood, especially in regards to his well-being. Everyone is getting worn down with all of the waves of creatures coming constantly.

Everyone was busy the next few days, fixing up the casino, making places to rest and heal up, as well as fortifying the place from being retaken. A day was all it took to make the place more homey and welcoming, while the next was spent trying to figure out plans for emergencies and the days to come. Arsene slips away during an argument Johanna and Zorro are having about moving supplies and differing strategies going forward. He knows exactly who he wants to see, landing in front of the mausoleum, looking for Robin Hood. He approaches the door as it swings open, Robin staring at him.

“Arsene?”

Arsene folds up his wings as Robin Hood moves to him.

“What are you doing here? Your friends need you.”

“I came to see you. To ask if you'd join us.”

“Join you?”

Arsene grabbed both of his hands, wings unfurling, standing on his tippy toes.

“You've helped us so much.”

“Because it's the right thing to do. To restore peace.”

“That's why you'd be a perfect fit.”

Robin is quiet for a few moments, looking down at their joined hands.

“As long as I can still take care of the dead, I accept.”

“Yes, we won't interfere with that. I promise.”

Arsene pulls him close against his body, overjoyed.

“Come on, I have to show you the progress we've made.”

“Later, Arsene. I'm almost done.”

Arsene nods, letting go again. He watches Robin go back inside before he flew off. He tried to sneak his way back inside without anyone noticing.

“Arsene, where have you been?” Johanna scolded.

Arsene jumped, looking a little guilty.

“To ask if Robin would join us.”

“Oh?”

“He said he would, as long as he could still do what he has been doing.”

“I needed your help earlier, so come along.”

Arsene sighs, following her to do whatever she asked.

~~~~~~~

“Are you feeling any better, Pallbearer?”

Robin Hood doesn't look at the Reaper, finishing up his task.

“Better. I still don't understand much of what I saw from that thing.”

“Mm. That was reckless of you. That could've been much worse for you, y’know.”

Robin Hood sighed, looking over at it.

“Your new friends were worried about you. You cut out completely. The Trickster sounded panicked.”

“That wasn't our intention.” He mumbled, looking upset.

“I implore you to exercise more caution going forward. If not for my sake, but for yours. Or the Trickster’s sake, since you care much more deeply about him.”

Robin Hood blushed, stammering out apologies. The Reaper held up a hand, silencing him.

“I'm going to keep a better eye on you in case that backfire is worse than we thought. I do not mind your romantic interest in him, and I couldn't care less. I am asking you to use your head, Pallbearer.”

“Understood. I do still feel a little woozy from a few days ago.”

“Then take it easy from now on. I would hate to see you burn out like your predecessor.”

Robin Hood looked down at his feet, knuckles white on the shovel handle, saying nothing. The Reaper murmured softly to him, reassuring him that it wasn't mad at him.

~~~~~~~

The night never fails to blanket everything, he thought as he leaned on the door to the casino, waiting. He spots a familiar white, perking up, waiting to see if it was him. Arsene closes the distance as he sees Robin Hood approach, wrapping him in a hug. Robin gives him a squeeze as he hugs back, pulling away to look at him.

“You came.” Arsene breathed.

“I did. You said you'd show me around and I said later. It’s later.”

Arsene smiled, pulling him inside the casino. He shows Robin around the casino for a while, now a base of operations for them, before finally showing him the terrace area he's sleeping in.

"So what do you do when it rains?" Robin Hood teases. "Let it run down your body as you sleep?"

Arsene laughs and pulls him under the little tarp where his bed is. It was a small area, a few boxes serving as a table of sorts.

"I get claustrophobic otherwise."

Soon enough, Arsene pulls Robin Hood to the ground with him, making him straddle his lap as he wraps his wings around them. Robin Hood's smile drops.

"Arsene… I… I can't stay here."

"Please. Just this once, Robin. Stay with me."

Arsene presses his lips against Robin's frown. Robin pulls away, brushing against the feathers. He pins his wing to wall right where the joint is, making Arsene blush and squirm.

"Arsene."

His reluctant warning only serves to make Arsene dig his fingers in deeper on his waist. He shifts slightly as Arsene kisses him again. He left himself pliant, letting Arsene take the lead before he breaks away. Arsene tasted earth and ash on his lips, but it was pleasant.

“I…”

He stops talking when he sees Arsene's face, full of hope and confusion and desire. He removes his hands from Arsene's wings, placing them on his chest, looking guilty.

“You can touch them.” Arsene murmured.

He blushes, running his fingers over the wings, smoothing out the feathers as an unspoken apology. Arsene hums in content as Robin goes further, spreading out his wings more. He lets out a little gasp as he finds some of the more sensitive spots along his wings. Robin stops, pulling his hands away. He opened his mouth to apologize, Arsene interrupting him with a kiss. He felt Robin press down on his chest as they broke apart again, slightly agitated.

“I can't stay, Arsene. Please.”

“Why can't you?”

“My duties come first, you know that.”

“They're dead, they can wait.”

“ _Arsene_.”

Silence fell between them. Arsene's patience was getting a little thin, having to wait forever for Robin, having to be the one to initiate anything between them was getting stale.

“Am I ever going to be important to you?” He blurts out.

“What kind of question is that? Of course you are.”

“It doesn't feel like it.” Arsene huffs out, digging his claws in.

“Ow, Arsene.” Robin hisses, trying to pry off his hands.

Arsene realized what he was doing and lets go of him, anger deflating. There were a few scratches left from his claws, but nothing serious.

“I… I'm sorry.”

Robin stares at him, face frustratingly neutral and hard to read. Robin suddenly closes the distance, kissing hard, Arsene making a surprised noise in his throat as he felt Robin tremble beneath his hands as he replaced them on his waist. Robin pulled back, keeping their foreheads together.

“Look, I'm sorry this war keeps me apart from you. But I need to do what I must, and so do you. I'll be fighting by your side when I’m able to, I promise.” Robin murmurs, cupping his face.

“Okay. Sorry, guess I'm just tired and missed you. You worried me the other day.”

“I'm fine. But you should rest if you're tired.”

Robin Hood gets off of him, offering a hand. Arsene takes it, holding tight, not wanting to let go. He sits on the edge of the bed, pulling Robin a little closer.

“You look tired too. At least lie down with me.”

Robin sighed quietly, sitting down next to him.

“Okay, I can at least do that. Don't be upset if I'm gone when you wake up.”

“Promise.”

Arsene settles down in bed, waiting for Robin to settle down too, wrapping his wings around the both of them. His heart skips a beat as Robin lays his head on his chest, humming softly.

“Robin?”

“Mn?”

“I love you.”

“And I, you. Now rest.”

Arsene rubbed circles into Robin's back until he fell asleep to the song Robin was humming to himself.

 

The morning finds Arsene first, yawning, going to move but freezing as he felt a weight on his chest. He looked down to see Robin Hood hadn't left yet, fast asleep with his legs entangled in his own. Arsene smiles at how peaceful his face looked, tracing a finger down his jawline. Robin stirred after a few moments, opening his eyes. His body suddenly tensed up, whipping his head up to see Arsene. He untangles their legs, pushing himself up.

"I shouldn't have stayed." Robin panics, getting up and leaving.

"Robin!"

Arsene runs after him, skidding to a stop at the front door as Robin is already out of sight. He sighs deeply, leaning back onto the door, his wings drooping.

“Arsene, why are you awake?” Necro’s voice grumbled from behind him.

He turned to see her rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Did I wake you up? Sorry.”

“Was that Robin?”

“Mhmm.”

Necro sighed as he looked down at his feet.

“Come on, let's at least start making breakfast for everyone.”

~~~~~~~

“You're late.”

Robin Hood rubbed the back of his neck as the Reaper drew closer.

“Spending time with the Trickster, I presume?”

He nods, straightening up.

“No matter, not much has happened as I'm sure you can sense. But we still have those missing hearts to find, so let's go.”

Robin stuck close by its side, apologetic. The Reaper stifled a sigh, feeling the guilt in its companion was already high.

~~~~~~~

Steadily, more and more monsters attacked them daily. They seemed to be coming from everywhere, and though they took any down time to search for their source, they couldn't figure out where exactly they were coming from.

“Ugh. Will this ever end?” Zorro grumbled.

They were all in the casino, two of the tables pushed together to make a bigger table where Johanna had laid down a huge map of the area.

“If we could take them out at the source, we could put an end to this.” She said, tapping her fingers. “But where? We don't have any clues.”

Robin Hood stumbled his way in, out of breath.

“Sorry I'm late.”

Arsene grabs his hand as he moves to stand by his side, giving it a light squeeze.

“You didn't miss much. We're still trying to figure out where they're coming from. No clues so far.”

Robin readjusts the bow over his shoulder, staring at the map. Arsene noticed how ragged he looked as he pushed some hair out of his face.

“There must be something we're missing, I can feel it.”

“Johanna, you've been saying that for the past hour.” Necro commented.

“Look, why don't we take a rest?” Carmen cut in. “It's been a long day, and we're all spent. Let's put that stupid map away for a few minutes, okay?”

Johanna sighed, rolling up the map and putting a rubber band around it. They scattered about the room, sitting wherever there was chairs and space. Arsene rested his head on Robin Hood's shoulder as they sat on a ratty couch, intertwining their fingers together.

“You okay, Robin?”

“Just busy.”

Arsene pulled back a little, taking his free hand and putting it on the side of Robin’s face, pulling it around and making Robin look at him. He trailed fingers down the side of his face, Robin exhaling slowly, letting the tension out of his body.

“Hey, I'm curious. About dying...”

“That's a little morbid, isn't it?” Robin joked, cracking a smile.

“Hmph, wise guy. I know that all of us get reborn and such, so what's it like?”

“For me? Or in general?”

“For you. I don't remember much from my past lives.”

“There cannot be a long period of time without a Pallbearer. And then you will lose the memory of me being Pallbearer when I come back. It takes a few days for me to be reborn, give or take, but then I'm a pretty different person once that happens. Like all your past lives were.”

“Yeah, I understand the completely new person thing. But… if I still lived when you get reborn, will you still be in love with me?”

Robin blinked, concerned.

“Arsene…”

“I'm just wondering!”

He reaches up to grab Arsene's other hand, pressing it into his face and closing his eyes.

“If that new me is still in love with you, I would probably try to reach out to you. But I will look very, very different. You most likely won't recognize me.”

“I… see.” Arsene murmurs, looking down at the floor.

“Arsene, darling…?”

He brings his gaze back up, staring into those softened red eyes. Arsene kisses his nose, suddenly filled with determination.

“If you die, and then you reach out to me again, I promise I will still love you.”

“I'm not sure if you want to make a promise like-” Robin started, stammering.

Arsene presses in the sides of Robin’s face a little more, his eyes snapping to stare back at him.

“I promise.” He reiterates, feeling fingers close around his other wrist.

He feels Robin sigh inaudibly, dropping his hands to his lap. They heard footsteps, everyone glancing around the room and getting up. Everyone was here, so they assumed the worst. They made a tight line, readying to fight. The footsteps turned the corner, Arsene relaxing immediately upon seeing the little blonde girl.

“Bookkeeper?”

“Hello again, Trickster.” She bowed to the rest of them. “I mean no harm. I have something to say to all of you, in fact.”

Everyone exhaled, putting weapons away. They pushed a bunch of seating together so everyone could sit together as the Bookkeeper flipped through the pages of her book, politely refusing a seat.

“Glad to see you've surrounded yourself with friends, Trickster.” She smiles brightly at Arsene before she cleared her throat. “I should just get right to it. Before this war can end, there will have to be a sacrifice made. Once becomes twice, and then there will be peace.”

She turns and starts to leave.

“Wait, don't go. What does that mean?” Arsene got up, preparing to chase after her.

“You will know in time. Be prepared, and keep up the good work in the meantime.”

She turns the corner, Arsene running after her and finding her gone again. He walks back, puzzled.

“Well, that was… something.” Kidd said.

“Did she just drop a prophecy on us and leave?” Necro muttered.

“Sounds like it.” Goemon crossed his arms, pensive.

Arsene looked to Robin Hood, who just stared right through him, lost in thought.

“Let's not worry about it right at the moment.” He suggested, tearing his eyes away from Robin's distant ones.

They talked about it late into the night despite themselves, and Arsene didn't even notice when Robin slipped out the door and left.

~~~~~~

He watched His child eat with gusto, scarfing down the pile in front of it with no regard for manners. He put a hand to its forehead as it finished, it pressing more into His touch, sighing happily.

“It's just you and I left.” He murmured.

It pulled itself up, puffing out its chest. He chuckled, patting it gently.

“Yes yes, I know. You're the strongest of your siblings.”

It bumped His hand, tilting its head, curious. He considered His losses so far. He was losing. He had already lost six of His children to The Group now. They had gained a ninth in the Reaper's Chosen, which worried Him. The Chosen had knowledge at his disposal, knowledge that could be used to not only kill His last child, but could topple the throne He has so far held onto for this long. There was a way He could almost guarantee His child's success, but that put Him at risk too. But only if they manage to beat near-impossible odds.

“To increase your success against them is something I can do, but it carries a risk. But with Their successes despite the odds, I cannot afford to be too complacent at this point. Come here, my child, I have something for you.”

He knelt down, taking its face in His hands, touching foreheads with it. He spoke slow, powerful words, threading and weaving them around His sole survivor, trembling once He was done. His child stretched out, shaking itself off, indicating it was ready.

“Do me proud.”

~~~~~~~~

Deep down, Arsene was worried about him the more times he spared someone the pain of dying. But he couldn't devote his thoughts to it right now, when he and Robin were in the middle of a battle. Robin perks up, whipping around. He runs towards a dying moloch, clearing a path.

“Arsene, cover me.”

“Got it.” He responds for the seventh time today.

Robin knelt down, eyes closed, hand pressed to the moloch’s chest. Arsene glided over there, being extra alert. He heard a strangled gasp from Robin, his heart skipping a beat. He turned his head to see he was as hurt as he already was, concentrating on his magic. More creatures came for them, Arsene fighting them off as best as he could, being pulled to where the creatures were coming from. Several minutes pass before he hears a loud groan. He looks to see Robin collapsed over the body, gasping, slightly conscious, struggling to get back up. A couple of huge beasts closing in on him. Arsene tackles one of them, flying back towards the other one, slashing into its side. It snapped at him, keeping his attention as the other one recovered. He could hear the rattle of chains close by as he fought, tensing up. He spun around to see the other creature about to pin Robin Hood, tackling it again. This time it stood its ground, making it a wrestling match between the two of them. A loud bang sounded off right as he started turning, seeing the Reaper aiming down its barrel at the dead creature. Arsene paid it no mind as he took care of the second one. Arsene rushes back to help Robin, stopping as the Reaper is by Robin's side, staring up at him. Arsene turns his back on it, keeping watch for more creatures.

“‘m fine.” Robin slurs, dropping into that raspy voice.

He stands up, shaking his head before nocking his bow. The Reaper pulls away, floating off somewhere else.

“Let's go, Robin. There's more fighting this way.”

The two of them head towards more enemies, adrenaline keeping them going.

 

They managed to eventually rout the enemy, all of them going back to the casino, exhausted. Arsene stayed practically glued to Robin Hood's side, fretting over him.

“Arsene, I'm okay, really.”

“I just want to make sure.”

They heard the rattle of chains outside, making all of them but Robin jump. The Reaper ducks into the doorway, staring down Arsene.

“Trickster.”

“Wait, master, he didn't-"

It held up a hand, stopping Robin. Arsene straightened up, trying to hide the fear in his body. The Reaper glances at the both of them, placing a hand on the side of its face.

“You seem to be a reliable ally to my Pallbearer, Trickster. May I count on you to protect him when I can't?”

“Yes. I'll do everything I can.”

The Reaper said nothing in response. Arsene's shoulders tensed, wondering if he somehow didn't answer the question correctly.

“Very well, then. I hope you won't make me feel I misplaced my trust in you.”

And with that, The Reaper leaves, Arsene sighing in relief.

“Master seems to like you.” Robin said, smiling.

Arsene grinned, pulling him into a hug. All of them sat around and talked quietly, a little uneasy about the whole situation. Robin said his goodbyes, giving Arsene another hug before he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up finishing this chapter a lot faster than I thought I would. Can't guarantee the next chapter will be just as fast.


	7. Dangerous Cause

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arsene worries that Robin Hood's health seems to be on the decline lately. The group finds a horrifying discovery.

Out on patrol with his love should be fun. Not whatever was going on with Robin Hood right now. Arsene had flown them both up to this building to get a good scan of the area, but Robin Hood had stopped scanning and was just looking straight ahead, a little frown on his face.

“Robin?” 

Arsene waved a hand in front of his face. Robin shook his head, giving him a confused look.

“You good there? You were spaced out.”

“Ah, oh, sorry. Something happen?”

“You just stopped moving. You okay?”

“Just thinking, sorry.” 

“Guys we've got more incoming!” Necronomicon shouted. “They're coming from the south!”

Robin Hood and Arsene dash off towards the front lines, knowing that conversation can wait until afterwards.   
  


He seemed to following something that isn't there. At least, nothing Arsene could see. Robin was following whatever it was with his eyes, the only indication he gave was by turning his head to keep watching the thing be saw.

“Hey, Robin?”

No answer.

“Robin.” He repeated, louder.

He blinked and turned towards him. 

“Oh, hi Arsene. Did you need me?”

“Are you sure you're okay?”

“Just really busy. Tired, I suppose.”

“Mhm.” 

Arsene made a mental note to have Zorro check him out later. The two of them pushed on, alert for any more attempts to ambush them.

~~~~~~~~

Robin Hood drags himself through the door of the mausoleum, barely keeping himself standing. The War seemed to drag on forever at this point. Days have passed, and the dead kept coming. Voices shrieked out to him as he walked through to the open chamber, begging, pleading, or insulting. He shook his head, trying to clear them away. They quieted down a little, to a point where he could relegate it to background noise. Sleeping did nothing to relieve his exhaustion at this point, the deaths were too many, too close together. And the mystery of those missing hearts was driving him mad.

_ The voices from the Styx haven't been this strong before. Maybe I'm reaching my limits. _

"My Pallbearer, you look awful." 

Robin Hood turns around to see the Reaper. He is suddenly acutely aware how pale he looked, how drawn. 

"I know. Uh..." 

Fingers brushed over his lips, Robin Hood's cheeks flushing. 

"Is it time?" 

"No, not yet. Are you anxious? Or excited for it?"

“I simply wish to rest." 

"Oh, soon enough my dear. Soon enough." 

The ghost of a kiss lingers over Robin's lips, taking his breath away. The Reaper leaves as quietly as he entered, leaving Robin Hood alone. He went about until he could barely keep his eyes open anymore.

~~~~~~

Liberating. That's what it was. Free from the scrutiny and judgments of the younger siblings, free from the watchful eyes of Father, free from the trappings of Home. Though Home provided safety and warmth that was not all to life. There is always more to be had, and he was going to take it for himself. And with Father’s gift, there wouldn’t be anyone to stop him.

~~~~~~

Robin Hood stumbled mid-stride, feeling something very, very wrong. The bodies he was following to their locations suddenly disappeared. He knew Arsene and Milady were just staring at him now.

“No… that's impossible.” He whispered, horrified.

“Pallbearer?”

“The bodies… they're disappearing. I can't sense them anymore.” 

He is very anxious as he runs off, leaving the other two behind.

“Robin, wait up!” Arsene calls out behind him.

Robin was desperately trying to follow the threads that were still there, feeling them snap one by one. He pushed himself to the limit, running as hard as he could towards any remaining dead. As he crested the hill, he skidded to a stop, nearly tumbling forward, at his discovery.

“What…”

The blinding white creature was massive, towering over several buildings, with a shark like head and no eyes, four legged, a thick trunk like tail swinging side to side as it walked, a huge club st the end of it. Spikes ran from the end of its head down to rest before the club tail end, stark black and seeming to ooze ever so slightly. Gold was striped all around its body like a gilded warning sign, making it a bit hard to look at directly due to the shine. Its front- paws? Hands? - were busy scooping up corpses to devour them whole. 

_ It's… it's eating them! _

Robin feels a hand clasp his shoulder and shake, snapping out of his stupor. His hand was hovering over his quiver, ready to pluck an arrow at a moment's notice.

“Robin, come on. We can't rush in by ourselves.”

Robin balked at him before his logic caught up with the rest of him.

“Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Sorry.”

Every step they took, Robin felt more threads snap and a chorus of insults for being cowardly from his new resident voice swarm. It wasn't until they regrouped that he noticed how hard he was shaking.

“That thing is a lot bigger than the others.” 

Arsene quickly describes the monster to them.

“So this is what they've been waiting for- Hey, are you okay?”

“Just… dizzy, feel bad. It's… eating the dead, can't feel them anymore.”

“Oooh… that has to be bad for you.” Necro muttered.

Robin sits down on the ground hard, putting his face in his hands. He lets out a pained whine.

“Bad, bad. Why won't it stop?” 

“Maybe you should go to the Reaper. Come on.” 

Arsene offers him a hand up, which he took. He is wobbling as he stands, Arsene hovering a hand over his chest in preparation to catch him if he fell.

“No. I… I want to put a stop to that thing. Ngh- it hurts...”

“The rest of us can go up ahead to get a read on it, you two stay here for a moment.” Johanna said, gesturing to the rest to follow her.

Robin leaned heavily into Arsene as they waited, the rattle of chains being audible after several minutes. The Reaper makes a beeline to Robin Hood, giving him a once over.

“Pallbearer, what's wrong?”

“Hurts, creature eating the dead. Ugh…” 

Robin loses consciousness for a moment, Arsene keeping a firm grip and holding him up. He groans, his eyes fluttering, digging his nails into Arsene’s arm.

“He wants to help you all, doesn't he?”

“Yes.”

The Reaper sighs, leaning down so it was eye level with both of them.

“Pallbearer, I thought I told you to stop being reckless?”

“I know… but to let it continue is worse.”

The Reaper huffs, turning to Arsene.

“Give him to me for a moment.” 

Arsene gently passes Robin to the Reaper, watching it lift him up. It whispered something, waving a hand over his whole body. It put Robin back down, who looked a bit pale but otherwise okay. Robin looked up at the Reaper, confused.

“Temporary severed the connection. It's for your own good if you truly intend on chasing down that thing.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because you're too stubborn, dear. Now go. Stick close to the Trickster. I'll be here if you get into too much trouble.”

Robin Hood did as he was told, letting Arsene take the lead as they caught up with everyone else.

~~~~~~

“What do we do? That thing is incredibly strong, I'm not sure if our attacks are even affecting it at all.” Necro worried her lip, tapping her fingers on a table.

The nine of them had fallen back to the casino after an intense and exhausting battle didn't seem to even faze the behemoth. It just kept going about what it was doing, offering a hiss and a bite or a slash if they got too close. It left a trail of destruction in its wake, not stopping for anything. 

“We just have to keep trying.” Arsene said. “Something has to give. I refuse to believe it's invincible.”

“Let's rest up before we try again. We were already partly spent when it appeared, we need to regain our strength.” Zorro said, tugging at his sleeve.

“I can take first watch.” Robin offered.

“Robin…” 

Arsene gave him a look.

“I don't sleep that often.”

“You were in pain when near that thing, I don’t think that's a good idea.”

“If someone else wants to stay with me, I- ngh!”

Robin falls to his knees, clasping his hands over his ears and closing his eyes. Arsene comes to his side, slipping an arm under his arms, pulling him up. Johanna gets to them first, trying to see what's wrong.

“Connection's back. Just sudden, that's all.” He rasped.

“You're not taking first watch. I will. Go rest.” Johanna ordered.

“But-”

“Robin, please. Don't push yourself too hard.” Arsene pleaded.

Robin hummed in defeat, leaning heavily into him as Arsene moved him to the couch for a moment. He let Arsene position him, becoming almost limp. 

“I shouldn't stay…” He mumbled.

“You're staying. We need to make sure your okay.”

Robin looked like he was about to protest, but paused, tilting his head to one side. He sighed, leaning against Arsene again.

“Master said stay. So we'll stay.” 

Arsene sighs in relief, slinging an arm around his shoulders. He was glad he didn't have to argue with him. He heard Robin's breathing slow down, indicating he was asleep. He was playing with his feathers, fretting over Robin’s well being silently in his head. 

“If only you weren’t so stubborn.” He mumbled to himself, kissing his forehead.

~~~~~

“Why isn't anything working?!” 

Arsene skidded to a stop, Robin huffing in agreed annoyance. They had rested well, were at full strength, but the monster did not even look like they had laid a finger on it. It just kept going.

“I don't know!” Necro snaps back, frantically typing. “I'm doing my best here!”

He was getting more and more used to the snapping of connections the creature caused, but it still hurt and it still muddled his thought process. He kept firing arrows at it, hoping that maybe this time it would work. No such luck. The monster shoved a large amount of bodies into its mouth and chewed, making Robin dizzy at the sheer amount. He stumbled, shaking his head to try to clear it.

“Do you need to leave?” Arsene asked him, noticing his unease.

“Perhaps it's for the best. We're not doing anything to it. I don’t think we’ll ever-”

“Don’t say things like that.” Arsene growled.

Robin shifted, staring at the creature again.

“Just look at it, Arsene. We aren’t doing anything to it.” 

“We must be doing something! I refuse to believe we aren’t doing anything.”

“But-”

“We just have to keep trying! We haven’t lost yet!”

A loud crack as the creature knocks down another building, it toppling to the ground as the monster searches for more things to eat. Arsene takes to the air, trying to hurt it again. 

“What an idiot.” Robin mutters to himself as he goes off after Arsene.

~~~~~~

“Fall back!” Johanna and Necronomicon shout.

“No! We’re close to figuring it out! I just know it!” Arsene snarled, about to take off once more.

Robin Hood clamps a hand onto his shoulder, making him yelp.

“You’re going to get yourself killed at this rate, love.”

“I-”

“We need to leave. You need a rest, Arsene. And you’re the one who chastises me for pushing too hard when you also do it.”

Arsene huffed, shaking out of his grip. He was right though, it had been hours they had been fighting with this thing, struggling to even just slow it down or make a scratch on it. They were exhausted, and he himself felt he could fall over at any moment.

“Okay.”

He let Robin pull him back towards their friends. Arsene was fuming, but he knew he couldn’t argue with his body about needing rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have been super busy lately, but at last an update! So I'm thinking this might be nine chapters long, and obviously those are gonna be much longer chapters than this one, but we will see. Somehow, this has been both the shortest chapter of this story and the hardest to write for whatever reason, but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯.


	8. The Prophecy Unfolds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Arsene had not seen Robin Hood for a few days now.

_ Robin said he would be out cleaning up the dead so that monster couldn’t eat them.  _ He reminded himself.

But he didn’t know how long that would take. He was starting to get twitchy, knowing Robin was pretty much alone besides for the Reaper out there. He’s worried Robin won’t come back at all. Yet he can’t leave to go check on him either, because the chances of being caught alone was too high to risk. So he paces. And paces. And paces. 

“Mate, yer gonna make a rut in the floor if you keep that up.” Kidd jokes, though his underlying worry cut through the mirth.

Kidd was leaning against the doorway, watching Arsene go in circles, deep in thought. 

“Robin has been gone for a long time.” Arsene explains, stopping and tapping his foot.

He’s so restless lately.

“He was alone for some time ‘fore he met you. He’ll be fine.”

“I know, but that thing…”

“You can ask Necro how he’s doing, y’know. She’s still linked to him.”

“Yeah, I’ll go do that then. Any change in the plan?”

Kidd shakes his head.

“Everyone’s stumped.” 

“Okay, thanks.”

Arsene goes to find Necro, seeing her sitting off by herself. He moves over to her, a bit hesitant in case she was doing something important. She glances up at him, giving a small smile.

“Come for another signing lesson?” She asked, barely succeeding in sounding cheerful.

“Actually, came to ask about Robin. Is he okay?”

“He cuts in and out a lot, but he’s still kickin’. Plus, the Reaper is still on our link too, and it said it was keeping an eye on him, so there’s that.”

Arsene sighs in relief.

“Thank you.”

He turns, and stops, something coming to him.

“Hey Necro? Do you think that prophecy will come true?” 

“Which one?”

“The one about a sacrifice. I… You don’t have to answer at all, I just remembered it suddenly.”

“I don’t know. I don’t really wanna put any stock in that, really.”

“Fair enough.”

As he walks back to his room, a singular thread of thought crosses his mind:

_ That sacrifice will have to be me. _

~~~~~~~

“C’mon, breathe deeply now, dear.” The Reaper coos, rubbing Robin Hood’s back.

Robin Hood was clutching onto a body tightly, hunched over it, groaning and gasping and coughing. 

“Can’t…” He managed to choke out, shuddering.

His eyes were clouded over, his knuckles white. The Reaper caught him as he started to fall over, becoming limp. It pulled him onto its lap, sending the corpse away. It cradled him against its chest, checking him over, making sure nothing else was wrong. Robin Hood stirred after a few minutes, scrabbling to hold onto anything at all. He settled on the chains around it, taking deep breaths.

“Pallbearer?”

“I’m okay.” He wheezed.

“Are you?”

Robin Hood pressed his face into its chest, letting out a whine. The Reaper sighs, lifting his chin up gently to look him in the eyes. 

“It’s taking you too long to come down. You’re burning out.”

“I’m fine, I-”

“Dear. Do I really have to say it?”

Robin shut up, twisting in its grip slightly to bury his face into the Reaper’s chest. It feels lips pressed against its chest, a soft hum coming from him.

“Love you.” He murmurs, closing his eyes.

“Mhm. You’re getting rest now.”

The Reaper gets up, shifting Robin so he was still being held. It moved towards the mausoleum, staying with him to make extra sure he got rest.

~~~~~~

Robin Hood dragged his hand through the pool, causing ripples in the water. The voices were more persistent now, just a little harder to ignore.

“Don’t worry, I’ll join you all soon.” He whispers, pulling his hand out.

He hears the familiar rattle of chains, getting up. The Reaper looks down at him, cocking its head.

“You rang?”

“There has to be something I can do to that thing, you would know, right? A spell, a ritual, anything?”

“My dear, you know that sort of magic is way beyond your ability.”

“I have to try! You’ve seen it, haven’t you? I must do something about it!”

“It is an abomination, I’ll give you that. I might have something, but...”

The Reaper taps a finger against its mouth, deep in thought.

“I want to protect them, no matter what.”

The Reaper sits down, leaning forward, close to his face now. 

“You know this means he will never forgive you for it.”

“I have to maintain balance, It’s my duty. And my duties come first.”

The Reaper chuckles.

“Always so duty-bound, my dear Robin. But that’s what makes you a good servant. Now, come here, and listen closely.”

~~~~~~

Arsene was slumped forward, face in his hands, elbows on his knees as Johanna and Zorro had ended up dominating the conversation, talking in circles for the past hour. 

“Look you two, this is pointless!” Necro snapped. “That thing is getting free reign to do whatever it wants, and if you two don’t stop arguing, it will probably kill us too.”

They huff, both turning their backs to each other, furious. Arsene sighed audibly, playing with his hair. None of them had any ideas beyond just keep attacking it until some sort of weakness emerged. Arsene picked his head up, taking a deep breath.

“I think… I think I need to sacrifice myself.”

All eyes were on him now.

“What… What are you talking about?” Carmen demanded, narrowing her eyes at him.

“The prophecy. There needs to be a sacrifice before this war ends, right? And my purpose is solely to help end this war.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Johanna hissed at him.

“It’s my one purpose!” Arsene snarls, jumping to his feet.

Everyone devolved into an argument, which turned into three arguments, and then five. It was late into the night when all of them were too exhausted to argue anymore. They retired for the night, not wanting to talk to each other at the moment.

~~~~~~~~~

“Arsene?”

Robin Hood hears a flap of wings as he enters the casino. It’s late, but he knew at least one of them had to be patrolling. He guessed correctly that it would be Arsene. Arsene turns the corner, perking up and dashing towards him.

“Robin!”

He hugs him tight, and after a moment, pulls back, visibly relieved. He let Arsene pull him inside the casino.

“You’re okay! I was worried.”

“I’m fine, love. I came because I have something to ask you.”

“Oh?”

“May I have a few of your feathers? Just four would be enough, and they could have been molted off for all I care.”

Arsene searches his face, deep in thought.

“Will you stay the night?”

Robin swallows, covering Arsene’s hand with his own. 

“I… I can try.”

Arsene beams at him, kissing him, Robin returning it. Arsene pulled back.

“You kissed back right away.” He murmured, touching his lips in awe.

“Oh, is that a bad thing? I’m- mmph!”

Arsene interrupts him with another kiss, smiling as he pulls away.

“Don’t be.”

Arsene pulls him close, Robin threading his fingers through his hair to kiss him again.

“Oh, wait. Before I forget. Stay right here for a moment.”

“Okay.”

Arsene rushes around the nearest corner, hiding himself form view. After a few minutes, he comes back.

"Here, one two three four," Arsene counts as he hands him the feathers, placing a big one into his other hand. "And one for good luck!" 

Robin grins, twirling the fifth feather around, admiring it. 

"Thank you. I'll keep this last one close to me."

Robin pulls Arsene into a little dance, just like the one they had the day they cleared the casino. He just wished he could stay like this forever.

~~~~~~~~

Arsene runs a hand down Robin's back, shifting so the both of them were more comfortable. Robin seemed to be having a bad dream, his face scrunched in worry, clutching tightly onto him. Arsene wished he could do something for him, wanted to chase away his nightmares. He didn't want to pry either, feeling that would just drive him away. He felt so cold to the touch, his wings shifting to press against him in an attempt to help warm him up a little.

_ It would be cruel to leave him when I fulfill my purpose. _

He squeezed his eyes shut to keep the tears in. He didn't want to think about it either.    
  


The morning came, and this time, Arsene found himself alone. He laid there, pressing a hand to where Robin's head was a few moments ago, feeling the last moments of his warmth fade away.

~~~~~

Robin enters his home again, shutting the door behind him softly. He can feel the eyes of the Reaper on him as he starts preparing the components. He takes four old shackles, hangs them off a wooden pole long enough to just touch the sides of the pool,, and then lowers them into the water, making sure they were submerged entirely. He took four arrows out of his quiver, laying them on the ground and placing a black feather by each. He went one by one, removing one feather from each arrow. He took the black feathers, finding where he put his knife, and started carefully cutting the feathers into shape. He refletched the arrows when he was done, so now he had four arrows with a black feather in them. He replaced the arrows in his quiver, sighing.

“And this will work?”

“As long as you speak with intent, yes. Mind your words, and mean them.”

A whole day had passed when he retrieved the shackles, now deep green and slightly glowing from the water. He put them on his belt, making sure to secure them. Robin took the last black feather, gently placing it on the shelf next to the urn. took a deep breath, leaving to go meet with the rest of them.

~~~~~

“Right, so are we all ready? We either kill this thing, or die trying.” Johanna intoned, causing some murmuring.

“Let's do this.” Arsene grinned, stretching a little.

“I think we're all ready for this. Let's give it a good fight.” Goemon added.

The nine of them departed together, turning serious once they started the trek to the beast's last location.

~~~~~~~~

“What the hell is with this thing?!” Arsene snarled, stumbling a little as he landed on the roof they were gathered on.

They're all on the verge of being dead, heavily wounded with exhaustion nipping at their bodies. The smaller grey creatures were swarming everywhere, the flying ones harassing them the most, keeping them on their toes. Robin knew it was time, putting the shackles on quickly while they were all distracted. Arsene tensed up, about to charge in one last time before Robin Hood stops him. Arsene struggles in his grasp as Robin hood pulls him back.

"Let me go, Robin Hood!" He growls.

He only responds by pushing him towards his friends. 

"You'll die." Robin said.

"I know! Just-" 

Robin silences him with a kiss. 

"Go." 

He shoves Arsene back into Kidd's and Goemon's arms and turns towards the creature, nocking an arrow. 

"All of you go!" He shouts, running towards the creature.

"Robin Hood no!" 

Arsene has to be restrained and carried by two of his friends as they run away. 

"No! No! Let me go!"

Robin Hood sticks the arrows into three nearby buildings across from him, before jumping off and putting the last arrow in the building he was just standing on.

_ I'm sorry, Arsene. _

Robin Hood angles himself into the creature's jaws as he pulls the bow. It swallows him whole, and he knows he only has a short time to pull this off. 

"By the Reaper's blessing, I exchange my essence to rip you from this world and banish you to whence you came!" 

Chains appear on the shackles, Robin grabbing and pulling from the inside, making the creature screech in agony as the chains start to tear through it. He feels that telltale snap of his own life force, the monster screaming as both of them start to fall, the rumble of buildings collapsing all around them. A voice screams in his head.

_ “No!  _ **_No!_ ** _ You bastard! You're not getting away with this!” _

He feels a sudden jolt as a hand rips through his chest, a black shadow tearing out his heart and disappearing just as quickly as it appeared. He felt his back hit stone, gasping, stunned for a moment. He feels around in his pocket, fingers closing around cold metal, tugging. He slips the coin under his tongue, letting his head fall back. He briefly saw black wings framed against the sky, briefly felt the weight of being crushed before everything went black.

~~~~~~~

"Robin!" Arsene screams, breaking out of their grasp and taking to the air.

“Arsene! Don't!” Milady shouted after him.

But he didn't hear her. He tore through swarm after swarm of those ugly flying things, just trying to reach him, hoping against hope those buildings miraculously didn't fall on him. His body protested as he tried to push himself beyond his limits. His wings seized up as a result, causing him to nosedive towards the ground. He freaked out, closing and opening his wings in order to stop himself. He managed to finally work with wings again, getting a few scratches from the beasts on the ground before climbing back up. The dust was everywhere, making him splutter and cough. It stung his eyes, making him blind. He spun away, flying away from the cloud dust. He landed back where his friends were, growling in frustration. He wiped out a line of four legged creatures with a wide spread curse spell, making his exhaustion more apparent. They picked up the fight again, intending on finishing what was started.   
  


Once the dust settles, they rush over to dig through the rubble. The monster was dead, but they found Robin Hood's body as well. Arsene cradles him, trying to cling onto the last strand of hope that he had.

“Please, you… you have to do something! Please… He can't… he can't be…” He pleaded with Zorro, Carmen and Johanna.

They try with whatever energy they have left.

“He's… he's not getting up.”

Arsene clutches his body tighter against him, shaking.

“No…” He whispered, silently begging them to try again with eye contact.

“He's gone, Arsene.” Johanna murmured gently.

Arsene buries his face into Robin's body, not even noticing he was already crying. He didn't even care that the shackles on his wrists were burning him. He felt a hand on his back, Carmen's voice close to his ear, trying to comfort him. He can't even hear what she's saying.

_ No no no no no no. _

“It was supposed to be me…” He coughs out. “Not him… I…”

He gets up suddenly, knocking Carmen over with the movement, taking off. He barely hears them calling after him over the blood rushing in his ears.  Arsene carries his body to the mausoleum, kicking open the door. He lays Robin Hood down carefully, as if he would shatter otherwise. He whips through the place, making a glass coffin so he could still see him. He pauses after placing the body in the coffin, flying off to a nearby field for a moment, coming back with an armful of flowers, all blue and yellow and pink. He starts placing the flowers in the coffin with him, making sure the hole in his chest was adorned with them especially. He finished, closing the coffin and standing it upright across the pool of water so he could symbolically look out over the place. The bow he took and put it in its rightful place, above his coffin. He took a step back, looking over his handiwork. He collapsed to his knees, sobbing.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I wasn't quick enough, I couldn't save you, I'm sorry!” He chokes out, repeating himself until his voice got hoarse.

He couldn't move. It felt like a weight was pinning him to that spot as he cried for hours. He didn't even care how blood dripped down from his wounds, nothing mattered at that moment.   
  


He eventually ran out of tears, mustering up what little strength he had left to get up and go back to the casino. His friends jumped when he limped in, pulling him into a group hug.

“You were gone a whole day. You had us worried.” Zorro scolded him as he started healing his wounds.

Arsene said nothing, struggling to keep his eyes open. He leaned heavily on Kidd, and felt his body placed onto a couch right before he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi welcome to the pain and suffering chapter. :'). RIP.


	9. Victory and Rebirth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eveything changes, no matter how much stays the same.

He felt it, His head snapping towards the source of sudden energy. A realization crawled over His skin and made Him shiver.

“No…” He whispered to no one.

He reached out, trying to put His fears to rest, trying to contact His eldest. Nothing. He swore under His breath, cursing The Group. He could still wipe them out Himself. There was still enough power for that. He lifts the scabbard off its hook, preparing His weapons and enchantments. The rest of His creations got His message, that He would be descending soon to wage war Himself.

~~~~~~~~

Usually, death passed over him without fanfare, painless and quickly. The rebirth process was the same, save for the lingering effects of whatever was the cause for a scant few minutes.

This is was not one of those times.

Robin Hood was in agony, sitting in that little room, tight chains criss crossed over his whole body, making it hard to breathe, let alone move. He was kneeling, head hung, struggling and crying at the pain. Black spiraled out from the hole in his chest slowly, making him cough.

“Robin, can you hear me?”

The Reaper finally arrived, crouching down into his vision for a moment. Robin lifted his head to look at it in the eyes. He felt a hand hold up his chin, gentle and cool, and he was made aware how hot he felt. He groaned, dropping his head and letting the Reaper hold his head up. 

“Painful?”

“Agony.” Robin hissed through gritted teeth.

The Reaper regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, tilting his head up more as it leaned back a little. He gasped as another wave of pain hits him, flinching. It pressed forward slowly, searching his face for any negative reaction. Robin Hood parted his lips slightly, inviting. The Reaper took the invitation, making him sigh into the kiss, relief washing over him as a tingle ran through his body. The Reaper hummed in surprise, pulling back for a moment. The pain came back worse, making him yelp.

"Oh. How thoughtful. You know how much I love the taste of gold." 

The Reaper snickers as it keeps going, swallowing his agonizing screams. It pulls back again, tone slightly amused.

"But you know what that means for you?" 

Robin Hood gasps as he starts feeling numb, pulling tight against the chains. 

"We can do without lies." 

He feels fingers caress his jawline. 

"Oh, you'll see soon enough, my child."

~~~~~~~

Milady stayed by Arsene's side while he slept, having woken up before anyone else. She was deeply worried the loss he suffered was going to make him lose focus, make him forget his friends. She brushed some stray hairs out of his face, pulling away as he rolled over onto his other side, his back to her. The feathers look ragged, having the wings beneath cut open and singed and who knows what else. Very tense, she realized. His body was very tense, shaking.

“Arsene?” She asked, shaking his shoulder.

He gasps, scrambling to sit up, then relaxing upon seeing her.

“Sorry, looked like you were having a nightmare.”

“Yeah. I was. Thanks.” His tone was a little short.

“Do you want to be alone right now?”

He shook his head, swinging his feet onto the floor. 

“Sorry. Just overthinking this, I guess.”

“I'm here to listen, whenever you feel ready, okay?”

“Thank you.”

~~~~~~~

“Now what?!” Kidd snarled, seeing something on the horizon.

Arsene tensed up as the humongous creature came towards them, smaller flying creatures ahead of it, all gold and silver and ivory. The squarish face, the halo, and the multiple arms, one of which was holding a giant gold sword, spelt trouble. It was huge, the armored knight making the tallest buildings looking tiny.

**“You. You nine killed my children, try to rip me from my throne. Your insolence shall be punished.”**

The voice was deep and booming, the ground shaking with its steps. The winged creatures got to them first, much larger than they had thought. The three angels descended upon them, intent on tearing them to shreds before the knight can reach them.

**“Tremble before Yaldabaoth or face oblivion.”**

“We will not back down!” Arsene shouted.

His friends cheered in agreement as the final battle started.

~~~~~~

The water spills over the sides as he crawls out of the pool, and that unpleasant fuzzy feeling plagues him for the next few minutes as he figures out what happened to his body. He stands up, the vertigo feeling of being much, much taller than he remembers hits him. He looks down to ground himself, catching part of his body and his shackles in the process.

“Hooves? Those are new...” He muttered. “And those are gold now… great.”

He goes towards the hallway out, ducking down, nearly hitting his horns on the doorway.

“And horns? Okaaay…”

He presses on, intent on finding the nearest window to see his reflection. He finds what he's looking for, staring deeply. The confusing, eye-hurting black and white diagonals all over his body, the long, straight horns from his head, and  the pale gold hooves threw him for a loop. The shackles had connected chains wrapped around his body, not hurting or anything, but there, and heavy. He plays with his magic a little bit, figuring out a way to make them disappear from view. 

“There we go.”

_ Same face too. But the gold ring… huh. _

He noticed a gold ring around his pupils, but otherwise he looked the same, just bigger, and more strange.

_ “Ah, you're awake, Pallbearer.”  _ The Reaper purrs in his mind.  _ “The war is over, and I already took care of the rest. So have fun.” _

He reached through his memories for a name, rolling it around on his tongue, testing it out. Loki was not a bad name. It was a lot shorter than his old one, that's for sure.

_ Speaking of… _

Loki took off in search of a certain someone.

~~~~~~~

Arsene didn't fit in anymore. He could feel it in the air. He tried to talk about missing Robin Hood to his friends, but they didn't know what he was talking about. How could they not know? It was only a week since he died. Only a week since they managed to kill that monstrosity that called itself divine. But they forgot about him. 

_ How could they?? Do they hate me? _

He wandered, letting his feet take him wherever they wanted him to go. He didn't want to think. He didn't want to hurt. But it was all he could seem to do, think about it and get hurt.

_ Robin, please come back to me. I'm begging you. _

~~~~~

Loki was about to lose hope of finding him today, when he got lucky. Arsene was off by himself, back turned to him. His heart leapt with joy that he was still here. He was giddy, he missed him so much while he was being reborn. He just couldn't help himself.

"Arsene!" 

Loki runs towards him, stopping as he sees the confused look on his face. 

"Who are you? Have we met?" 

"Arsene, it's me, Robin Hood. I'm so glad you're alive." 

Arsene narrows his eyes as Loki moves towards him. Loki hesitates at his suspicion.

"Robin Hood doesn't look like that." He growls at him. 

"I promise, it's me. Let me prove it." 

Loki closes the distance and kisses him, Arsene pushing him away. Loki was shocked for a moment, trying to catch up with what was happening. 

"Who are you really?" 

His voice was pure venom, full-on glaring at him. Loki stuttered for a moment, unsure what went wrong.

"Arsene, I... I'm Loki now. Please, Arsene. I love you." 

Arsene backs up, responding to Loki moving forward. 

"Liar! Liar! Robin Hood doesn't look like this!" 

“Wait, please, I can-”

“ _ No! _ You… how dare you play with my feelings! Who the  _ hell _ do you think you are?!”

“I'm telling the truth! Arsene ple-  _ eep _ !” 

Loki yelps as Arsene claws him across the face, freezing.

“ _ Fuck you!  _ You fucking _ monster.”  _ Arsene snarls at him, taking off.

The blood ran down his face as he gently prodded at it, trying to assess the damage. He walked back to the graveyard, sensing the Reaper was inside waiting for him. He stood outside, trying to process everything.

“Reaper, what... why doesn't he recognize me?" Loki yells, running into his home. 

He jumps backwards, palms smacking onto the stone as he toppled over, coming face to face with his own body. 

"Do you like it? He did that especially for you, Robin."

_ No no this isn't possible no no no _

His mouth hung open, shivering as he felt fingers caressing his sides. 

"Heartbroken already? I warned you he wouldn't forgive you, darling."

“...Fuck you.” He managed to spit out.

“At least buy me dinner first, dear.”

Loki stands up, hearing the Reaper chuckle. He turns around and slashes at it with his claws, only making it more amused.

“Oh, how cold of you.”

“Leave me alone!” He snarled.

The Reaper had already retreated though, and he took his anger out on the one who was responsible for this.

“You selfish bastard! You had it all and you threw away everything!”

He claws the glass above Robin's face enough to obscure it, then turns and runs out of the mausoleum. He just keeps running until he's out of breath, leaning against a wall. Something crawled into his thoughts, honeyed and low as it spoke.

_ “Oh, you poor, heartless creature. Did he stop loving you?”  _ It mocked.

“Shut up.”

_ “I'm right, aren't I? He hates your guts now. He clawed you, darling.” _

“Shut up, go away, don't call me that.” Loki hissed.

It left him with a bad headache and thoughts like static. He turned around and went home, jumping at the sight of the corpse again. He looked away, just trying to ignore it. It made him sick to his stomach, looking at it.

~~~~~~

It had been a few days since he had last seen the Pallbearer. The Reaper looked for him, not seeing him at the mausoleum. He spotted him on a building, playing with something in his hands. As it got closer, it realized what it was.

"Still have that feather, Pallbearer?"

Loki glances down at it, twirling the feather slowly in between his fingertips. 

"You shouldn't throw away a good luck charm." 

"My dear-” 

"Dont!” He snapped. “Don't remind me..."

Tears streamed down his face all the same. 

“I thought I told you to leave me alone anyway…” He continued, voice cracking on the last word.

“I am here if you need me, Robin Hood.”

“That's not my name! And I don't need you, go away!”

The Reaper sighs, but does as he asks. The Pallbearer will come to him when he's ready.

~~~~~~

Arsene still felt restless. It annoyed him that all his friends seemed to forget about Robin.

_ Maybe I should visit him. _ He thought, tapping his foot.

He took off towards the mausoleum, pushing his way inside. Though now, the coffin had been scratched to obscure his face. 

“Oh, how did that happen?” He murmured, touching the glass.

He walked around, but nothing else seemed to be touched at all. He was relieved in that aspect. And if he got close enough, he could still see Robin's face.

“Oh, but you're still okay, huh? Sorry, I've been real busy, but I'm here now since the war is over and done with. Still can't believe it's only been a week since…” He started rambling at the corpse.

It had been a few hours before he heard footsteps come towards him. He straightened up, turning around, confused. He saw Loki look up, see him, and freeze. 

_ He looks like- _

Loki started backing up, nervousness plain on his face.

“Robin?”

He stops, staring at him. He didn't say anything, so he kept going, moving towards him.

“Robin, is that you?”

Loki sighed in relief.

“Arsene?”

“Oh, it is you!” 

Arsene closed the distance between them, hugging him. He felt Loki tense up at the contact before returning the hug. He pulled away, seeing the smile on Loki's face.

"I… I'm happy you finally remember." 

"I missed you so much. But, uh, wow..."

He took a step back, taking it all in.

"You'll get used to it, honest."

“Glad you're okay! But, why did you go and do that?”

“We wanted to protect you.”

Arsene’s eyes widened in surprise, but he said nothing, noticing how relaxed he was now.

“Hey, do you want to come take a walk with me? Like old times?” He offered.

“Oh, uh, sure. I'd… I'd like that.”

Arsene takes a moment to kiss him quickly, tugging his arm to pull him outside. Loki freed himself, but still followed him. Arsene took a few steps outside and paused. He felt strange all of a sudden, forgetting what he was doing.

“Arsene?” 

He heard a voice from behind him, whipping around to see  _ him. _ Standing there, too close to him for comfort.

“What are  _ you _ doing here?” He hissed at Loki.

“I… was just walking.”

“ _ Bullshit _ you were. You were following me!”

Loki took a step back, hunching over slightly, trying to say something, but seeming to have trouble with words. Something came to him in that moment, and he glanced down at his hands before flickering back up to his face.

“You scratched out his face! You made that mark on his coffin!” He snarled, starting to advance on him.

“Arsene, please, I can explain!”

“What can you say?! First you play with my feelings and then you scratch out the face of my beloved! Fuck off. You're lucky I have places to be.”

With a turn of his heel and a snap of his wings, he flew off, leaving Loki behind.

~~~~~~

Loki brushed away his tears, trying not to think about it. He was so close to being with him again, but of course it wouldn't last. He re-entered the mausoleum, emotionally worn out from the whiplash Arsene just gave him. Now that he was calmer, he felt guilty about defacing the coffin.

“Ah. You didn't deserve that.”  He murmured, touching the coffin and using a quick spell to repair it. 

He felt that anger well up again, gritting out another outburst through his teeth.

“Actually, no, you deserve much worse than that, but it doesn't matter because you're fucking dead. Fucker. Selfish bastard. I hate you.”   
  


It was a few weeks before he saw Arsene again. He wasn't aware that he could actually open the front door, freezing when he overheard Arsene talking to his body. He approaches cautiously, freezing again when Arsene turns around and sees him. Though there was that spark of recognition in his eyes. Loki remembered what happened the last time, putting his guard up.

“Robin?”

“Yeah, uh…”

Arsene brightens up.

“I missed you! I'm so happy you're okay! You look very different though, huh…”

“Missed you too. Um, what are you doing here?”

"Came to visit you. Why else? You have time today, right?" 

Loki stiffens, slouching down. He needed to make a decision, and he reaches out silently while he thought of what to say.

"Actually, I need to talk to the Reaper today." 

"Can I come?" 

"It's not something I like talking about with other people..." 

"Oh, okay. Oh! I almost forgot that Milady asked me to do something for her today anyway, so I gotta go. See ya!" 

"Yeah, bye."

He lets Arsene brush past him, immediately missing the accidental contact with minutes of him leaving. He walks past the coffin, deeper into the building, where he knows he can get outside without Arsene seeing him.

~~~~~~

“Ah, so this is where you are.” The Reaper murmurs.

Loki is laying down on the very rubble that killed his last body, staring blankly at the sky. He tapped a rhythm out on the stone with his claws.

“Fuck Robin. He did this to me.”

The Reaper sighed quietly, keeping its distance.

“Darling, you can't wallow in self-loathing forever.”

“And why not? Just because  _ we _ made that decision doesn't mean  _ I  _ agree with it.”

“I did warn you.”

“I know! Just…” Loki sighed deeply, bitterness seeping into his voice. “Hah hah, maybe I was hoping for too much. It doesn't matter anyway, because he's just going to kill us, right?”

“Pallbearer…”

“That's why he's still here, am I right? Usually the Trickster is gone by now. But I don't understand how everyone forgot about us, Arsene didn't kill us.”

“I'm not so sure either, but should you really be dwelling on it?”

“There's nothing else to do. Except wait around for my death, ha ha.”

“Robin Hood…”

“It's fine! He's going to kill me. I'm fine with that, okay? I'm okay with that.”

It watched as Loki screwed his eyes shut.

“What a hand I've been dealt.” He muttered, wiping away a few stray tears.

The Reaper could feel him be so torn over this, but it wasn't like they could change it. Loki started getting up, looking exhausted.

“Well, know I'm here when you want to talk.” 

Loki glanced up at it and left silently. The Reaper didn't chase, didn't try to comfort him more, because it would just most likely just set him off again. He seemed to have accepted his role, and who was it to interfere with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Finished this finally, and a little quicker thatn I thought. But this was fun to do, despite the big ball of angst this turned out to be! Thanks for reading!


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